Union Academy
by insider0987
Summary: Bella's forced to attend Union Academy after discovering the truth behind the weird symptoms her body's been enduring. Once there she learns that there're others like her who are also trying to balance out some normalcy in their lives while learning to control their newfound abilities. They're hormonal teenagers yet the ultimate biological weapon, talk about puberty.
1. Chapter 1

' _ **Cause I need an interventionist to intervene between me and this monster And save me from myself and all this conflict**_

CHAPTER ONE

"Bella it's for your own good. I know you don't understand but-"

The stupidity my mom was barfing angered me beyond the point of ignoring her that I interrupted her midway through whatever bullshit she was saying.

"No, Mom! You're the one that doesn't understand. You have absolutely no idea what I'm going through! Quit trying to feed me all that crap of how things are going to get better because I know they're not, Mom! I don't even know what's wrong with me and you're all too willing to send me to God knows where the first opportunity you got. So no Mom I don't understand but don't you dare try to tell me that this is somehow going to get better and don't even try to be the consoling mother because you're the one who's putting me through this." For weeks I've been struggling, crying, and, on the inside, dying. The same speech over and over isn't going to help; it'd just be a band-aid on a bullet wound.

My mom's face contorted from her usual composed expression to a slacked mouth, teary eyes, and heavy breathing. I hated seeing her like this but, currently, I was facing a bigger battle than just hurt feelings.

 _I'm sorry, I am so sorry._

"Bella, you know I love you." Mom said.

 _That's not enough._

"Mom, just please don't make me go." My voice cracked midway, just another tribute displaying my totally lame weakness.

"I'm sorry, Bella."

 _Not as sorry as me._

My life sucks.

After I had said good-bye to my mom in our little apartment, the government workers were ready to take me to Union Academy. In all fairness, my mom at least had the heart to look sad that her only child was being shipped away to a federally confidential school. Even she had tried to Google Union Academy. Strangely, each time she did the computer automatically shut down. Go figure.

The dark tinted windows of the car made it impossible to see outside. I couldn't even roll them down. I guess that as soon as the luggage was in the trunk and my body was on the seat, I was just another game piece in the sick game the government was playing.

Admittedly, I was scared. When I was a kid watching movies, anything remotely foreign like a mermaid or alien would always end up in danger of government experimentation. Now, I'm the alien in this screwed up movie called my life.

Hours of drifting in and out of sleep passed by before I finally woke up to the sound of car doors slamming shut. As soon as my door opened I was surprised to see that it was night time and we were parked in front of a huge compound of buildings. Stepping out of the car I got a better look at the compound and could tell it was sort of like a mall plaza without parking lots and a lot of grass. From what I could see, the buildings were spread out in the middle of an enormous grass clearing and at the outer edges was a forest of trees.

 _Where am I?_

"Ms. Swan?" I looked up to see a woman in a dress suit approaching me with my suitcase. "Did you have a smooth drive?" I eyed her suspiciously in hopes that she would understand that I didn't trust her whatsoever. The lady smiled, displaying pearly whites and dimples, and nodded like I was amusing her. _This is so not funny._ "Sorry, I'm Esme Cullen. I'm the dean of Union Academy and as we'll be spending a lot of time together I just wanted to make sure you'll be comfortable for the night." If she was a lady I met at a coffee shop I'd have no problem with engaging in conversation with her but, unfortunately, she's a government agent who supports secret schools that abduct teenage girls. In short, she was the sort of 'stranger danger' you learned about in school. "It's very nice to meet you, Bella," she continued, "And I'm sure you have a lot of questions but right now we just want to get you settled in for the night and tomorrow morning we'll have a one on one session. Does that sound good for you?" She rested her hand on the small of my back and began leading me away from the car.

 _Don't touch me._

I breezed past her to grab my suitcase; indirectly avoiding physical contact with her. When I turned to see her she was still giving me an expectant look.

"I'm sure you're a nice lady and all but I'm not sure what's going on and I'm just really confused and mad." I replied.

She nodded in understanding as she began leading us toward a red brick building, closest to the edge of the forest yet still a great distance away. "Well I'm sure you already know how special you are. And I bet you have some questions concerning your body changes too. I just want to assure you that this is completely normal for you and the last thing I want is for you to be afraid or mad in any way. Union Academy is a safe place for you and we're here to help you as you transition mentally and physically. I know exactly how you must be feeling but let me tell you that you're going to get through this quickly and learn how truly amazing you are."

 _Special?_

 _Safe place?_

Her attempts at making me feel better had the complete opposite effect and suddenly I was less than okay and everything was all sorts of wrong that my mind could no longer handle. "You have absolutely no idea what I'm going through. You work for the government; the people that bribed my mom into giving away her daughter. News flash: that's not okay! I'm not okay! You don't even know me so don't try and tell me that what I'm going through is normal because I'll tell you something I'm not normal and I'm definitely not special! You don't know what it's like waking up in the middle of the night with a body so hot you _burn_ your clothes off and have to extinguish a fire _on your bed._ I can't even hug my own mom without being scared of giving her third degree burns or go swimming in public because I might accidently give everyone hypothermia! I'm hot and cold all the time and I can't even _feel_ it so I don't know when I'm a menace! That's not typical puberty Mrs. Cullen! So please just stop. Just stop it." I was three steps from losing it. Apparently, I had stopped walking all together so I was just the idiot in front of the three story red brick building yelling at a lady I didn't even know. Taking a few deep breaths, I looked away from her annoyingly patient face to reclaim my sanity, or what's left of it. Finally, after a few seconds, I turned to her again and accused; "How can you have any idea what I'm going through?"

With a warm smile and caring caramel eyes that matched her perfectly combed hair, she rested her hand on my shoulder. I avoided the urge to shake it off. "I was in the same position as you when I was sixteen. I've felt exactly how you're feeling and even I had to attend Union Academy. Although we had to go through different obstacles we're not so different. Whereas you couldn't hug your mom, I was unknowingly manipulating mine each time I spoke. I'm not asking you to trust me right now because I know we just met but I do ask that you have some faith when I say that all will be well and that soon you're going to have a better understanding as to what's going on with you."

I shook my head. _What could she mean?_

"What do you mean? Can you explain exactly why I'm here and why no one in the US knows this place exists?" This is so far from ridiculous.

Opening the door to the building Mrs. Cullen waved to the man behind the counter and led me to the elevators. "Do you want me to explain everything for you right now or are you willing to wait until-"

"Right now." I interrupted her.

The elevator doors opened. As I walked in I couldn't help but feel as though I was also walking into a different world and possibly a different me.

 _This is so surreal._

She nodded quickly "In that case let's wait until we get to your room."

After she said that we both remained silent until the elevator doors opened again. Once they did we were met with what pretty much resembled a hotel floor; just a long hallway with multiple doors. She walked me down the long expanse and I couldn't help but hear some voices behind the doors. That could only mean that there were other people here. Were they like me..?

"Room 321. You'll be staying here and your roommate will be here tomorrow." She opened the door with her fingerprint and allowed me inside.

 _Roommate?_

It was a pretty basic room, like a college dorm; two beds, two desks, and a bathroom. I could see the left side of the room was personalized in pink everything in, of course, various shades. _Was I rooming with a six year old?_ On the other hand, the right side was bare with white comforters and pillows. Clearly, it was meant for me so I rolled my suitcase to the end of the bed. Looking at Mrs. Cullen I didn't even know what to do with myself so I just sat on the bed and waited for her to say something.

She smiled as she sat down on the opposite bed "Well, for starters, I know you're probably wondering why you're here."

 _Duh._

At my lack of response she continued "Well, Union Academy is a special school for kids with similar capacities like your own. From your own experience I think you can understand why the kids here are different than what society would consider a typical teenager. Here, every person has capabilities involving the five senses; touch, hear, sight, smell, and taste. Our bodies have pretty much evolved from the norm and gained a stronger sense of something. In my case, I speak and people listen a bit too much. I can enchant people into doing whatever I please. This appeals to the sense of hearing of others although it doesn't personally affect or have anything to do with my own hearing. You see what I'm getting at?"

 _Oh my, gosh, this is insane._

"That's insane, how is that even possible?" There's no way that this was just a side effect of evolution.

 _Do I actually believe her?_

"This is possible because of your unique DNA and mind capabilities. You're a straight A student, a star athlete, and even won your towns Miss USA pageant. You're probably pretty popular too, right?" _Woah, how could she even know all that?_ Mrs. Cullen smiled at my awestricken expression. "I read your files but that's beside the point." _Creepy_. "Nothing you've ever done was hard. You're body, mind, and physique better than any of your peers your age and even the ones far older than you. It's all because you, like all of us, have a deeper and more complex brain than the average human. That combined with genetic engineering created you to be the perfect weapon." At my horrified expression she quickly shook her head. "Allow me to explain. During World War 2, the United States was trying out bionic engineering on rats. Of course, nothing worked and most of the rats died but after decades of trying different variables and DNA strands the scientists finally cracked the code. As a matter of fact, my great grandparents were a part of this association. Now, these weren't just a dozen scientists trying to experiment but hundreds of them as they were all motivated to create the perfect human weapon. I guess the effects of the world war fueled their passion. They were all so incredibly dedicated to their work that after lab results proved positive for rats they're first experimentation on humans was on their own kids, my great grandparents and yours too." _Wow._ "Afterwards, they studied the effects of their experiment on the then 2 year old babies! Sometimes, it's still crazy for me too so don't worry." I tried to smile or nod but I couldn't even manage that. "Anyways, they thought that their experiment failed after years passed and the kids still didn't show signs of extra abilities which were the main goal. Everyone unanimously agreed that the benefits of intelligence and physical strength were enough and that they would soon ask the government for further funding on more experiments. However, that sort of process takes years. Thankfully, at the age of 14 my great grandfather was the first kid to show signs of abnormal behavior much like what you're experiencing. A year later my great grandmother had similar experiences and then everyone else soon followed. That's when Union Academy first began; to help us transition into our capabilities. That's pretty much the story behind Union Academy and our biology."

This was so much to absorb. It made sense, to an extent, and it wasn't impossible to believe. I mean, it's better than hearing that I'm an alien mutant. But could it be that the United States would just allow this sort of experiments to happen? Were they really that threatened? Or perhaps this was just for funsies that later turned into an obsession?

"How was that even legal?" I blurted out.

She smiled sympathetically and shook her head "Ever heard of a plutocracy? How are GMOs legal? Lobbying? There are so many dark sides to our government that it's best not to dwell on it too much. What matters is that the association got funding to spend on pharmaceuticals and equipment so every representative with stocks in those areas turned a blind eye. In all fairness, the goal of the experiment wasn't as awful as it sounds."

Now _that_ I could believe. I guess it all really did lead back to money. In the case that everything was legit and no one was breaking the law it still doesn't explain why I wasn't allowed to know about what puberty would really mean for me. I could handle bigger boobs and periods but when I turned into, as Mrs. Cullen put it, the ideal weapon some heads up would have been appreciated.

"And how come I didn't know about this? Does my mom know and why didn't she tell me when I was younger?" I asked.

"Well, that's when history gets fuzzy. After we realized that this gene could be passed down by generation, the government made it obligatory to notify them of each offspring everyone has. In addition, as soon as the offspring started showing symptoms of abilities they must attend Union Academy. There wasn't upfront opposition to this but there was talk of going AWOL. Before you knew it, dozens of people with the bionic gene and their families began disappearing. This couldn't be allowed so the government began hiring students as soon as they graduated from Union Academy to be bounty hunters. In fact, your father was a bounty hunter in charge of finding your mother and her family. In the end, they fell in love and had you except you were kept a secret until another bounty hunter found you when you were three. I'm sure your mom told you that your father's in jail, right?" I nodded. "That's true. However, the reason he's imprisoned is for keeping you hidden despite his specific assignment to find you. Just know that your mom was never allowed to tell you any of this. I know you must be angry with her because it must've seemed like she willingly let you come here but please don't hold that to heart. She had absolutely no choice and was given direct orders to not tell you a single piece of history concerning your bionic capabilities or she too would be imprisoned. She's lucky that she got to raise you because usually the government is very strict when it comes to deserters. I'm happy to tell you, though, that in return for both their compliance the government has released your father and he will be meeting with your mom tomorrow."

This is so insane. I've never met my dad and my mom talked very little of him. Whenever I asked why he was in jail she only ever told me that he was wrongly imprisoned and he's innocent. After she told me that he was locked up for life I pitied the way my mom spoke about him. She would speak as though she may have the opportunity to reunite with him someday; an impossibility that only she knew would one day come. I, however, have always been under the impression that I'd never be able to see him unless it was through a glass window, talking over a telephone. I couldn't help but feel excited. Deep down, though, there was guilt. My entire life I've thought of him as the bad guy; the douche father who was stupid enough to commit a felony and leave behind his family. My mom had always been right. More so, with Mrs. Cullen's words I also dropped the resentment I've felt for my mom these past couple of weeks. None of this was her fault. Now, I started feeling the first stems of excitement.

"Wait, so now that my dad's free and my mom kept up her terms does that mean I get to meet him?" I could actually have a dad, one that could walk me down the aisle and love my mom as they grew old together.

Mrs. Cullen nodded "Yes you can. However the visiting days for Union Academy are restricted to twice a month unless parents are part of faculty. Since your parents have kept up to their stipulations I'm fairly certain that they'll soon join us at Union Academy."

"You mean like becoming teachers?" I asked, slightly confused. My mom could barely contain her patience in the pizza line; the thought of her teaching a bunch of high school students was pretty laughable.

"Not necessarily. The reason for our bionic engineering was to ultimately help our government. Although right now we're not in any serious wars, we still need to work for Union Academy. There are a myriad of careers available. Preferably: scientists, doctors, and politicians. Obviously we can't visit any hospital if we got hurt or in the case of a regular check up, that's why doctors are needed. Politicians, or lawyers, are always helpful for experimentation rights and keeping us out of the view of the public. Still, we do need teachers but those aren't so hard to come by. Usually the older members become teachers after their time in the work force has worn them down. Personally, I just love kids and I guess this job lets me keep a close eye on my own." I could tell the passion Mrs. Cullen had for kids was genuine considering the way her eyes lit up as she spoke about them. This worried me, though. I could understand that she would be happy to work for Union Academy because she loved kids but I, on the other hand, wasn't at all interested in spending the rest of my life teaching the next generation nor was I interested in being their lawyer or doctor. These thoughts lead me to my next question that I felt would ultimately determine whether this place was a prison or not. "Mrs. Cullen after I graduate high school am I allowed to go to university and not work with Union Academy?" As if she knew I would ask this question she had the answer on the tip of her lips and in just a few seconds all my worries diminished. "Bella, I promise we're not here to keep you captive. Arrangements can always be made but, trust me, this is a community you're going to grow to love and it will ultimately be something you want to be a part of. In truth, Bella, I love who I am and I know soon you'll love who you are too." Mrs. Cullen's sincerity seeped through her words at the end and embraced me in warm reassurance that she's not the bad guy. I also learned that my mom wasn't the bad guy either. The only villains in this equation are within me and it's my job to figure out a way to fight them off. Although I hate to admit it, I think I was warming up to her. In all honesty, though, I have been fighting my attraction to her friendliness for the bigger portion of my time with her but now I see there's no point. She's really someone I'm going to need if I'm going to get past my obstacles.

"Thanks, Mrs. Cullen. It's definitely a lot to take in but I do feel better, kind of." I rubbed both my hands together and tried my best to look friendly. I hope she knew that I was speaking honestly.

Mrs. Cullen stood up from her position on the bed and walked over to sit beside me "It's my pleasure, Bella. Tomorrow I'll have someone bring you to my office so we can talk about your school schedule and any other questions you may have. Your roommate's going to be here for breakfast and I'm sure you guys will get along perfectly. Sleep well tonight, tomorrow's a big day." She got up to leave and I followed her to the door. "Thanks, Mrs. Cullen." Right before leaving she turned and gave me a good hug, a momma hug. After releasing me she grinned and said "I'm Mrs. Cullen during school but for now call me Esme." With that she left and I was on my own until morning.


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO

" _And there's nothing wrong with me in the land of make believe, This is how I'm supposed to be."_

"Okay, girls, be quiet."

"Hey, why-"

"She's sleeping, hush!"

"She looks dead,"

"Shh!"

I blinked my eyes a few times to wear off the grogginess of mornings. I think this time was hardest part of my day, who would want to escape a heavenly cocoon of blankets? Especially after last night, I wasn't exactly ready to face the world head on. Of course, I had done my own sort of pondering last night and decided that Union Academy is probably the best place for me right now considering I'm not in control of my sensory ability whatsoever; right now, that's the utmost priority for me if I want to live a close to normal life. That being said Union Academy could help me achieve that. Besides, I was pretty convinced that their image as the villain had absolutely dissolved in the information Mrs. Cullen told me last night. All in all, I needed to trust people here so I could come to terms with the reality of who I am, what I'm capable of, and what other people are capable of.

"Can we wake her up?" A voice whispered behind me.

"No! Let's just wait a bit."

I rolled over to see who the loud whispering culprits were. To my sleepy hazed shock, I saw three girls sitting comfortably on the opposite bed; each one wearing their pajamas and looking eagerly towards me.

 _Who were they?_

"Hello," I grumbled as I tried to sit up while simultaneously attempting to cover my yawning.

 _Hello, morning breath!_

"Good morning!" The girl in the middle could only be described as a mini pixie with the enthusiasm she was displaying; high pitched voice, cheesy smile, and sitting perched as close as possible to the edge of the bed, it seemed fitting. She had short black hair, extending outwards, which complemented her petite figure. Her brown eyes were bulging with excitement like it was Christmas morning when, in reality, it was just Sunday. I didn't know who she was but I remember Mrs. Cullen telling me that my roommate would be here in the morning so I'm figuring this was her or one of her friends would be. After Mrs. Cullen left last night I had dutifully unpacked my belongings and organized them in my entitled drawers and closet. I had also set up my laptop and books on my desk before I showered and got into bed. Of course, sleep didn't come so easily but after a few hours I managed to slip into a slumber. "I'm Alice," the girl in the middle continued, "I'm your roommate, I'm sure Esme told you about me."

I nodded "Yes, she did. I'm Bella." I smiled at her but I couldn't help but wonder so many things concerning Union Academy each time I looked at her and her friends. How long have they been attending this school? What're they capable of? Regardless, I reminded myself that these were questions I couldn't ask so early into meeting them. For now, I'd just have to ignore my urges and continue with regular conversation. After all, we still are regular high school students.

"It's really good to meet you, I've been waiting forever for a roommate," _Forever?_ "So I was super excited when Esme told me you were coming. Right before school started, too, so that's great! I can tell we're going to be great friends." She beamed, displaying cute dimples.

Alice's friend playfully shoved her, "Alice the girl just woke up, relax a bit. Hi, Bella, I'm Angela. It's nice to meet you." Angela was the skinny girl on the right with long brown hair tied in a braid and glasses resting on the bridge of her nose. "I'm across the hall, my roommate's Rosalie." She gestured to the gorgeous girl sitting on the opposite end of her. Rosalie had model beauty; well they all did in actuality. They each had a face you wouldn't be surprised to find on the cover of _Teen Vogue._ In Rosalie's case, she seeped beauty out of her t-shirt and pajama shorts. She had honey blond hair with crystal blue eyes that any boy would love falling in to. "Hey, it's good to meet you too." She smiled sweetly, showing off her incredibly white and straight teeth.

"Yeah same to you, all of you." I smiled at each of them.

Angela grinned and rose from her position on the bed, "Well, Rose and I were just here to quickly meet you and drop Alice off. We need to get dressed for breakfast and I'm sure you do too," She waved over my still sleepy form, half covered in my blankets. "We'll come back when we're ready to head over for breakfast. Don't worry; we'll get some caffeine into you soon."

"Thanks, I could really use that." I decided I liked Angela.

Rosalie began to follow Angela out the door "See you later, Bella." She waved before closing the door and then it was just me and Alice.

"Your friends seem nice," I commented.

Alice moved to lean against the wall as she replied "Oh, yeah! They're great, you'll love them almost as much as you'll love me," She stopped quickly to give me a cheeky wink which I chuckled at in response. "No, but really we're super stoked that you're here. It's been a while since we've had a new student and even longer since I've had a roommate. So how'd you sleep?" Alice asked.

I appreciated the fact that she would even care at all over how I was handling the transition so I replied in earnest, "I thought it'd be worse but I actually feel okay. I think that everything Mrs. Cullen told me was something that I had been searching for. I'm still not entirely used to everything, though, a part of me still feels like this is so surreal but at the same time I know that this is a good start."

Alice nodded, grabbing some of the blankets and wrapping them around her "I get what you mean. I remember my first night here. That's why I offered to let you sleep alone last night; I didn't want you to be too overwhelmed. I'm happy that you sound like you have some sort of acceptance, though. It gets better, I promise. First, we have to go to breakfast, though. The food here is great, you'll love it!" She got up from the bed and headed to the bathroom, pretty much prancing her way there. Giddy at 9am, who would've thought? Alice opened the door and called to me "Here, Bella, you can have the first shower, I'm sure you need it more than I do."

 _Bless her._

"Thanks a lot, Alice." I hoped the sincerity in my voice was noticeable enough for her. It was big of her to let me have the room last night and the first shower. As far as rooming arrangements go I think there's not going to be any issues.

Alice laughed, a chiming sound you would expect to find in a Snow White movie "Don't thank me girl, I'm just saving myself because you reek! Now shower up so I can go after."

I laughed with her "Okay, okay I'm going!"

After Alice and I finished getting ready we headed over to Angela's and Rosalie's room before breakfast. It was right across the hall but everyone was bustling in the morning, in other words, everyone was going out of their way to stare long and hard as they passed by me. Their eyes practically screamed 'new girl'. Alice was quick to reassure me, though, "Don't mind them, it's just unusual to have someone new so late into summer. The last guy we got came two months ago and he arrived with dozens of other people. Don't sweat it, though, they just think you're the shiny, new toy."

Rose opened the door and let herself and Angela out. I've learned that the doors lock themselves automatically and are encoded to open with the occupants' fingerprints only. Bravo, Union Academy, on security.

"You all ready?" Rose asked as she led the way to the elevators.

"Where's breakfast?" I asked as we squished ourselves into a packed elevator.

Alice hit the button for the first floor and answered me once the doors were closed. "Meals are served in the building next door. The gym is there too along with the library and pool."

The door opened and I rushed to get out before being trampled by the tortuously starved girls. "There's a pool?" Despite my original love for swimming I didn't think that that could be a reality here until I learned how to contain my sensory ability. Apparently, most people don't like the pool to randomly turn into hot tub mode and then switch to the Arctic Ocean setting.

This seemed to catch Rosalie's attention instantly, "Yeah, the school tries to get everything on here. It's big too and has temperature control so it always feels amazing!" She beamed. "We obviously can't have a swim team but we each have to enroll in a sport so I chose swimming and it's been the love of my life ever since." We walked out of the building and followed the direction the other girls were walking in. As Alice promised I could see everyone walking into the building right next door; it was pretty close and clearly within walking distance.

Alice snorted "Yeah right! You can't keep your hands off Emmett for more than two seconds and that's just so you can wipe your ass before you go make kissy faces at each other again!"

Angela and I couldn't help but giggle, but now I was eager to know who Emmett was. As if Alice knew what I was thinking she went on to explain "Emmett's my brother who Rosalie was so quick to pronounce her undying love to as soon as she saw him,"

"Okay, not true!" Rosalie protested. "In fact, after we met it took us three months to start dating."

Alice nodded in defeat, "Yeah, she's right. Now she whispers his name in her sleep."

Rosalie groaned, "Alice!"

"I'm just kidding, you know I love you. Anyways, Bella, as luck would have it she's dating my brother and I'm dating her brother." Alice elbowed Rosalie on the side.

Now that's news! "Wait so you swapped boys?" It was pretty laughable, the type of thing you'd hear about in a TV drama or teen romance novel.

Angela was quick to answer, "Oh, yeah. Rosalie's brother is named Jasper and he's head over heels for Alice. I could say the same about Emmett too."

"That's cute," I commented. This was so surreal. I had to remind myself I was at Union Academy. Just last week I was on the phone talking to my best friends about boys and suddenly I'm here with people I just met having girl gossip.

We entered the second building and I was introduced to a long blast of AC. It resembled the hallways of pretty much any indoor school, minus the lockers and preppy posters on the walls. While we continued to follow everyone else in the direction of the cafeteria I made a mental note that the entrance was the first double doors on the left side. I'd have to ask Alice about the remaining doors in the long main hall some other time.

"So where are you from, Bella?" Angela asked.

I turned to see they were all looking at me expectantly, "I'm from Florida."

"Ugh, the weather must be amazing for beach days! Or does it rain a lot?" Rosalie commented.

I shrugged "It's pretty bipolar but I guess you get used to it. Do you have any idea where we are?"

The three of them shook their heads "Beats me." Alice answered.

The cafeteria came into sight soon and once we got inside I could see hundreds of kids sitting down and eating, joking with one another. Across the room a buffet style breakfast was waiting for us with people already helping themselves to the surplus food. It looked absolutely delicious, mountains of pancakes situated beside waffles galore. There were so many eggs, each cooked differently you'd think a whole barn was taken out. Cereals, milks, fruits, coffee, and everything heavenly in the mornings were making my mouth cry in deep want.

"Let's go get our plates, the boys said they'd find us once they showed up. They were probably up late last night." Rosalie began leading the way as I dutifully trailed behind her. Once we got to the buffet section I piled my plate with waffles which I dribbled syrup onto. We quickly grabbed some coffee and sat down at an empty table.

"What does everyone usually do when there's no school?" I asked after swallowing a bite of probably the best waffles I've tasted in my life.

Alice jumped in quick "I have to take you to Esme's office right after breakfast. I also have to pick you up so we'll hang out after, too. We can introduce you to everyone since there's going to be a pool party today. It's quite fitting with it being the last day of summer."

 _Too bad there won't be any swimming for me._

"Sounds good," I replied, delving into a bite of more waffle goodness. As conversation mellowed out I found myself growing comfortable around the three girls. I felt like I had to keep reminding myself that I was at Union Academy and although everyone looked normal, they all had a sensory ability. "Hey Alice?" I asked. Hopefully it wouldn't be too soon to ask about hers. It wasn't like I had any etiquette on this, though. "I'm obviously still new to this and everything but I was wondering, Mrs. Cullen said that everyone at Union Academy has an ability and she gave me all this background and reasoning to back it up. You don't have to answer if you're not comfortable but what's your power?"

She quickly chewed and washed it down with a gulp of milk. "If you ever have questions about that kind of stuff come to us. A lot of people can be really cocky and demeaning but just know that no matter what your sixth sense is, you have it for a reason. Not everything is going to be fire balls and lightning bolts but you can make it into grenades and hurricanes, honey."

"I think I know what I can do but I'm not sure," As soon as the sentence escaped my lips I regretted it instantly.

 _Oh, yeah, I'm so cool Alice. I can be hot and cold without knowing it. Want frost bite while we watch a movie? Fun!_

 _Uh, no._

"Oh really? What is it? Wait never mind I'll tell you mine first." Alice said to my extreme relief. "Last summer, I started getting symptoms and at first it was just insane headaches with extreme jumpiness all the time. I felt like someone was going to pop out and scare me. Everyone moved in fast motion and it was exhausting. After I came to Union Academy I was able to reel it in and understand my sixth sense better. Basically I can _see_ someone make a move before they actually do it. When you grabbed your fork two seconds ago I saw you make that move before you completed it. My brain processes it in milliseconds much faster than anyone. Like when people play basketball and fake left, I would've already anticipated that earlier on and kept going right. I'm not sure how to really explain it but all I know is that I've never lost a fight. Obviously, my sixth sense appeals to the eyes, in the case my own, so if you blindfold me I wouldn't be able to sense a thing." As strange as it sounded, that was very neat. I was only scratching the surface of Union Academy but I couldn't help but be intrigued. The only issue was that I couldn't imagine little Alice in a fight.

"That's really cool, real convenient too although I never pictured you as a fighter. How many fights have you been in?" I asked, pretty alarmed that someone would even think of hurting her.

She popped a pancake bit into her mouth and spoke around it, "Not a real fight." She continued chewing and motioned to Rosalie to explain to me. "The school has spar fights for us." Rosalie began. "We train kind of like how you would at a boot camp and they teach us how to fight with and without our sixth sense. It's not so bad but it's extremely frustrating when you go against Alice. She sees your every move so she gets out of the way before you can grab her. Sucks real bad." Rosalie complained teasingly.

Boot camp? The first thing that popped into my mind was Hilary Duff in her Cadet Kelly movie: mud, ropes, and barbed wire. "How long is boot camp?" I questioned in hopes that I wouldn't have to suffer too long, the Lord knows how far my idea of 'roughing it' gets.

Rosalie shrugged "All year but it's not too bad. It's like gym but more focused and pretty challenging. We run, learn hand to hand combat, shoot, work with our sixth sense,-"

"What's a sixth sense? You all keep saying that. Is that what everyone calls their sensory ability?" I interrupted out of pure curiosity because I kept hearing people use that term.

Rosalie nodded "Yeah, pretty much but I do like the sound of sensory ability. Catchy."

"So what's your sensory ability?" I pushed.

Shrugging humbly Rosalie started, "My story isn't as cool as Alice's. I pretty much got my sixth sense last summer, that's how Alice and I met. My symptoms weren't really noticeable except now that I look at it, I had only been dating or attracted to foreign guys who couldn't speak English. Anyways, everything was normal and it was my sophomore year. I was in Spanish class and this really hot foreign exchange student got into our class. He spoke Spanish perfectly and could speak English pretty well so there wasn't really a language barrier. One day he asked me to the movies so I went and everything was going smoothly until we started making out. It was the strangest thing ever. It wasn't even that long but afterwards I couldn't understand the movie. I was even thinking in Spanish! It was crazy. I asked him to take me home and that's how I showed up at Union Academy. They had me undergo really strange training but now my sixth sense is basically language tasting. If you know Japanese and I kiss you with tongue, sorry my sense appeals to taste; I can gain it as a language. It's weird, I know. At least I'm fluent in sixteen languages, so far." Rosalie winked. "Imagine my surprise when I realized Emmett knew Portugal."

I laughed "Wow that must be awesome for traveling!" My fascination continued as I heard each of their stories. I totally couldn't wait to meet more people and hear their stories too but for now I wanted to listen to Angela next.

"Yeah if they ever let us travel." Rosalie joked yet I could hear some underlying coldness in her voice. Whatever it was, I chose to ignore it. "What about you, Angela?"

Angela was already done with her breakfast and easily answered. "I got here May of this year when- oh my, gosh." Her voice dropped at the end of her fragment and finished with a gasp. Suddenly, all the conversations in the cafeteria came to a halt as everyone stood up to stare at a point behind me. Instantly, I whipped my head back to see what had caused everyone to drop everything and stare. Men in white uniforms began bombarding the cafeteria, machine guns in their hands. They came from all three entrances of the room, even the main one. A group of about a dozen boys was standing in front of them, arms raised and the ends of guns between their shoulder blades. They all sported bruised up and bloodied faces. Their clothes were covered in dirt, blood, and sweat which just added to their fatigued look. A few of them were even limping. Obviously a fight had gone down.

"Oh, no," Alice whispered as they came closer, about five feet away.

Rosalie gasped in shock "Emmett!" She didn't waste any time and even I didn't anticipate her running to him. It was just a distance of eight feet for her yet it was much too late to stop her from getting out of our reach.

"No, Rose!" Alice shrieked and ran up to try and yank Rosalie away but it was too late for her to stop. One of the men in the white suits stood in front of the boys to block her but in Rosalie's haste to get to her boyfriend she slammed straight into him. "Let me go!" She screamed and in the time span of ten seconds she maneuvered a skilled leg kick to his knee while simultaneously jabbing his stomach, causing him to release her. She took advantage of the freedom instantly and continued running to the line of boys that looked like they had gotten into a fight with a bear. Unfortunately, it didn't take more than five seconds for the man Rosalie had escaped from to pull out a gun from his belt. My heart dropped to the ends of my toes as my lungs expelled all the oxygen in my system.

 _No, no, no, no!_

Then, I noticed Alice had left me and was creeping up behind the man with the gun. She smacked the revolver out of his hand, tossing it to the ground at my feet. It didn't end there, she sent a kick to the back of his knees, effectively making him lose his balance and fall to the ground. The grace in which she moved left no doubt in my mind that each step was calculated to perfection. Not a moment later another man moved to attack Alice and suddenly I found my mouth and feet moving on auto pilot. "Alice!" I screamed, stepping forward to help her. Fortunately, she already had the situation handled, disarming him before he had even reached for his weapon.

"NO!" A voice behind Alice roared and then the first gunshot erupted.

A single second of silence followed. Right after, Alice's body crumpled to the ground and behind her a real fight began. The line of white clothed officers began grabbing the boys. I noticed Rosalie among the herd and saw that a group of three men were trying to take her away from an enormous guy with blood dripping down his face. They were both putting up a fight but she was soon wrenched from his arms as he received a quick but powerful hit with a police bat to his back. It was absolutely awful, my body began moving towards the entrance we came in but Angela quickly pushed me in the direction of the fight, "We need to check on Alice!" Swallowing my own fears, I willed my brain to focus on getting to Alice. The cafeteria was a mass of moving chaos. Everyone was surrounded and fights had broken out all throughout the room, gunshots adding to the already escalating conflict. I had no time to decide in which direction to go; I just had to help Alice.

 _Move, dammit!_

I followed Angela to Alice's small collapsed form. Once we reached her it was hard to swallow the fact that one of my only friends could be dead. Her body was entirely limp and her eyes closed tight, a picturesque corpse. Please don't be dead! I checked her pulse as fast as I could with my jumbled brain and almost erupted into tears, she was alive.

"She's okay but where's the bullet hole?" I demanded. I kept searching for blood but remained shocked to find absolutely none.

Angela looked at me like I was crazy "They don't use bullets. It's a tranquilizer but we need to find where it hit her to take it out, otherwise she'll be knocked out for days which is crazy dangerous."

I didn't have time to question how strange it sounded, I needed to help search for the tranquilized. However, when I looked up I caught sight of a helpless Rosalie. She was being pulled away by two men, one grabbing onto her hair and jaw as he spit menacing words at her while the other grabbed her roughly by the waist and arms to keep her from escaping. With all the commotion occurring, everyone was in a battle of their own and either couldn't see the desperate situation Rosalie was in or was too busy fighting one of their own. I couldn't leave her. "Angela we need to help Rosalie!" The men's grip didn't loosen at all but after one of them punched her straight in the face I shocked straight up. I didn't even wait for Angela I just ran to where Rosalie was, blood already boiling.

As soon as I reached her I wasn't thinking logically at all. I didn't care if I didn't know the first thing in fighting; the desperation on her face was evident, especially with blood dripping down her nose, as we made eye contact. It was all the motivation I needed. I reared my arm back and with all my strength punched one of the men in the back of the head. Pain erupted on my knuckles like wisps of flames but I ignored it as I gave him round two. This time, the pain was numbing and my adrenaline continued sky rocketing.

Unfortunately, the two seconds of success were short lived. The guard quickly spun around, slamming me against the wall. I think my head left a dent on it with the force of the collision. Tears sprung to my eyes but I refused to show any weakness. I tried kneeing him in the stomach or the groin but he quickly wedged himself closer to me with one hand as he reached for his gun.

 _No!_

In a last ditch effort I tried punching him but he had anticipated the movement and grabbed my wrist before my arm could reach his face. He held it for a second before hissing and dropping it immediately like it was hot steel.

 _Like it was hot steel._

I understood the look of horror he was giving me because I had seen it on a few other people as well. I understood why he fumbled for his gun: I was a threat. I understood that my freakish ability that had always been a burden could be the reason I lived.

Without a second to spare I launched myself onto him with my palms ensnared around his neck. He let out a horrified scream you'd only hear if you were thrown into the unforgiving fire of hell. Quickly, he pushed me away from me with the strength of a running ape making my body collide with the brick hard floor. My shoulder throbbed in absolutely horrendous pain with the force behind the push but I still moved to get up.

"Bitch!" The white suit man tackled me, his knees on my inner elbows, restraining me in position. The weight of him over me was unbearable; my heart pounded harder to keep circulation flowing through my body despite the man's knees on my arms, my lungs wheezed for any sweet oxygen it could afford, and lastly my legs kicked out fruitlessly. The man displayed the loaded weapon he had in his hand and I knew there was no hope so I relished in the satisfying sight of the burn marks around his neck. He leaned down, four inches from my face and said "I'm going to enjoy this." There was sick malice all over his voice as he lowered the t-shirt lower from my chest until my bra was on display. "What a shame you're not human." He whispered as nausea combined with horrific fear coursed through my system.

"Fuck you." I spit on his face.

He wiped it cleanly off as I felt the end of the gun move right in between my breasts. I braced myself for what came next but, surprisingly, the pain I was expecting was nothing more than a bite and the aftermath was just a numbing drowsiness. The sound of the shot itself was the most bothersome, super loud.

 _Stay awake!_

I closed my eyes a few times out of exhaustion and stopped struggling.

I peeked my eyes open slightly to let them adjust to the lighting. Aw man, not only was the light bright white but the sheets were white too as well as the bed I was on.

 _Where was I?_

I realized it was a mistake trying to sit up after a wave of intense soreness shot through my shoulder whenever I moved it.

"Shit." I muttered to myself. What the fuck had happened happened? Why were men in white uniforms shooting at _students?_ The boys! Was it possible that the guys that had walked into the cafeteria got beat up by the men in the uniforms? From what I had seen, the uniformed men wouldn't hesitate to throw a punch or two.

Looking around the room I was in I noticed that the walls were replaced by curtains as they would be in an ER. I wasn't really hurt except for… the man in the white suit; the _men_ in the white suits who had _guns._

 _Alice!_

I had to get out of here to check on Alice, see if she was alright. And Rosalie! Last I remembered Rosalie was also trying to fend off one of the men in white, hopefully she hadn't gotten too hurt.

I sat up without trying to move my shoulder too much and swung my legs over the side of the bed, a pang of dizziness came but luckily it passed with a few deep breaths. I looked down to see that I was still wearing my own clothes and my shoes were tucked into a corner of the room, near the exit. Slipping them on quickly, I was about to leave the room when I heard voices from outside.

"Why would they?"

"Listen, don't you dare try to defend them and say that all of this is okay."

The first voice was a feminine voice and the second a male, I didn't recognize either but it could've just been because they whispering.

"It doesn't matter, it happened. You know a lot of people don't like what's going on and there's obviously going to be protests."

"You call that a protest? What happened isn't a protest, it's a threat! It's a miracle no one died."

I couldn't really understand the context the voices were speaking out of but my best guess was that it had to do with the cafeteria fight.

"Look, you know the rules. The boys broke them and they had consequences."

"Rules? Of course I know the rules but it's the schools job to administer those consequences not the S force! If you want to talk about rules then look to the fact that a bunch of _minors_ were abused today, how many violations is that?"

"Oh, please, don't give me any of that abuse bullcrap. You should be happy that their request to use _real_ weapons instead of bats and tranquilizers is being looked over very slowly. It could have gone down a lot differently if they were using tasers and bullets."

"Oh I'm happy and you bet that I'm going to go out of my way to make sure that request gets denied! This isn't the first time that an incident like this has occurred! These kids could have been seriously hurt or wounded! Just wait until-"

"Until what, huh? No one outside of our operation is going to know because Union Academy, the S force, and Brains is restricted to the public so don't get your hopes up about justice because odds are it'll be a cold day in hell when you find it."

S force? Brains?

"Fuck you. Keep your men away from my kids!"

"They're not kids, they're genetic monsters. They're breaking all the laws of evolution, of nature! How can you even represent them in the Circle?"

The Circle?

"Cry me a river and while you're at it go drown in it! You of all people shouldn't be judging people in the Circle. If they ever found out what you-"

"Yeah, yeah I've heard this speech before but you wouldn't ever tell them, right? Not unless you want your family to know just how loving their father could be."

"I'm serious, just one more screw up and you're done."

"If you don't want to see them hurt again, then end it here."

"This is people we're talking about, innocent lives!"

Far off footsteps could be heard from the left causing the conversation to end. I could hear their footsteps heading in the opposite direction, indicating their departure as well.

I didn't know what to make of the conversation I had just heard. It was hard to decipher all of it but I did manage to catch the argument surrounding the events of the cafeteria conflict. It didn't escape my notice that the people that were speaking were whispering for a reason. Everyone in here was most likely knocked out so they weren't just practicing common courtesy to not wake us up. They most certainly had something to hide. The worrisome part was the fact that soon those tranquilizers could be turned into bullets, if the request they'd been talking about had been accepted Alice could be dead _I could be dead._ I felt a strong urge to tell someone, alert Mrs. Esme, but after overhearing the conversation I couldn't help but feel hesitant on who to trust. Of course Mrs. Esme seemed like a lighthearted woman, her passion for her kids was evident each time she spoke but, for now, I'd feel more comfortable waiting until I could absolutely trust an authority. Besides, I couldn't go up to anyone with a story of anonymous actors. I hadn't seen them or properly heard their voices, who'd believe me? I know I wouldn't.

The pair of footsteps that caused the speakers to leave was getting closer. I decided since it was probably the closest help I could get I should probably leave now.

Emerging from the curtains I checked my right real quickly in the small chance that the people who were talking would still be there. They weren't.

"Hey, are you feeling better?" A voice on my left asked. I looked to see a model straight out of Doctors Monthly. His golden hair was cut short, allowing his strong cheekbones and green eyes to be prominent features, his sexy doctors look was complete with the stethoscope wrapped around his neck, an ID badge to prove his identity, and a handy dandy pen on his left breast pocket.

 _I wouldn't mind getting a checkup._

"Miss? Are you okay?" He asked again.

"Uh, yeah," I stammered. "Actually I'm a bit lost."

He grinned and I swear the heavens opened up. "That's not a problem…?" He left his sentence hanging, the universal indication that he wanted to know my name.

"Bella Swan." I said.

His eyes lit up at my response, "Ah, Bella. It's finally good to meet you. You've made great friends; their waiting for you in my wife's office I'm sure you've met her already, Esme?" I nodded quickly, they make a cute couple. "They've been hounding me on when'd you'd wake up and I was actually just on my way to come find you. Do you want to head over there now?"

"Yes, please. Thank you."

It was warming to hear that my friends were concerned for me but, overpowering my humbleness, I was relieved to hear that because it meant that there was s _omebody_ to worry over me, meaning that Alice, Angela, and Rosalie were okay.

"Are you feeling okay?" He asked as we walked out of the big room of curtain covered smaller rooms.

"Yes, thank you Doctor Cullen." I replied.

"Oh, call me Carlisle. Alice has talked nonstop about you in the waiting room I feel like I already know you."

I giggled nervously, what has Alice said when we're just getting to know each other?

"Are Alice and Rosalie okay?" I asked while we were walking.

"Yes, they're both okay. Rosalie told me what happened and I have to commend you for it. Alice is alright too; more worried about you than anything but I'm happy my daughter has found great friends worth worrying over."

Daughter?

"Wait, you're Alice's dad? And Mrs. Cullen is her mom?" I stammered, surprised out of my mind.

He laughed a bit, "I would hope I'm her dad." I choked a bit and he seemed to sense my shock, "No I'm just kidding, yes. Esme is her mother and I'm a very proud father."

Well she forgot to mention that bombshell. One of my only friends is the daughter of the dean and a doctor.

We arrived in front of a door after walking through a maze of hallways. Dr. Cullen held it open for me and walking in felt like arriving on the red carpet.

"Bella!" Alice exclaimed as she hopped off of the sofa she was anxiously perched on. I saw Rosalie move towards me from the other end of the room, followed by Angela.

Alice was probably a head shorter than me yet the moment she wrenched me into her arms, beside from the pain racing through my shoulder, I felt enveloped in security. She was short and skinny but she packed a lot of strength and her secure grip was absolutely comforting. After an appreciated moment she released me to look me over, "Are you okay? I heard he shot your chest, close to your heart that's so dangerous! How do you feel? Rosalie told me what you did, I'm so happy you're okay, Bella."

"Alice, shh, I'm fine I promise. How are you? What about you, Rosalie?" I asked Alice but then moved to make eye contact with Rosalie.

"I'm okay, thanks to you. Really, Bella thank you so much. You barely know me yet you went out of your way to help me, I guess I kind of owe you one." Rosalie's eyes were watery, scaring me a little but I was reassured with the evident gratitude on her face. I'm guessing they were tears of joy.

Angela came to hug me quickly, "Glad to see you up, Bella."

"Glad to be up," I joked.

"Is your mom in here, Alice?" Dr. Cullen asked from outside the door.

Alice looked at me quickly and then replied "Uh, no. She went to have a chat with Edward; she's probably on her way back by now."

Dr. Cullen nodded, "Okay, I'll see you girls later then."

After Dr. Cullen left I took in my surroundings and noticed the room was rather large for an office but I guess with incognito federal funding, they had the ability to splurge. The mahogany desk at the back of the room was evidence enough but the nice leather sofas in the front corner were the perfect add on. In addition, aside from the furniture and the girls a dozen guys were scattered all over the room as well as two other girls who stood talking together.

Since Mrs. Cullen wasn't here yet it gave me some time to question Alice. "Alice, why didn't you tell me that your Mom was Mrs. Cullen?"

She shrugged, "You never asked."

"Um, that's not a typical get to know you question." I replied.

Alice began walking away, "Right now that's not important. Come meet Jasper." She led me to the couch area where a few guys were lounging and talking together. She carelessly sat on top of one of their laps and he instinctively wrapped one of his arms around her waist. "Jazzy, say hi to Bella."

"Hi, Bella. It's good to finally meet you." As he said that I detected a bit of a Southern accent. His curly blond locks reached down to his forehead and his blue eyes were exactly that of Rosalie's as well as his nose.

"Nice to finally meet you too," I replied warmly.

Rosalie grabbed a hold of my hand and had me sit down in between a guy I didn't know and her. Beside her sat a massive, muscular guy. He had dimples on his cheeks, showing them off as he smiled at Rosalie. Despite his enormous built; the dimples, brown, cheery eyes, and brown curly hair gave him a sort of boyish charm, lowering the intimidation meter.

"I'm Emmett." He said, holding out his burly hand.

I reached to take it in mine but right when I was about an inch away he swiped it back quickly and said "Too slow!" I couldn't help but laugh at this kiddy game.

"Hey, Bella, I'm Mike." The guy I was sitting next to said. I offered him my attention and noted his eyes were a lighter shade of blue with, of course, I messy mop of blond hair.

"Nice to meet you." I said.

"Thanks, Newton, but I wasn't finished." Emmett protested. I looked over at him and he had a slightly annoyed look on his face. "I just wanted to thank you, Bella. Rose told me what you did and I'm just really glad that you were able to help her before those piece of shit-"

"Well that's all I got to hear to know Emmett's talking." A loud voice announced from the door. He was tall, about 6'8" to 7 feet with wild bronzed hair that gave off a total bad boy persona. His jaw was sculpted perfectly, along with the rest of his muscular built. As soon as we made eye contact I was startled with how absolutely green his eyes were, just like the forest behind the dorms. He came inside, approaching our general direction and never releasing eye contact with me. Mammoth butterflies crowded in my stomach and a traitorous blush sneaked its way to my cheeks. He was absolutely gorgeous.

"Hush, Edward. I need to talk to everyone so just please hold off the antics for now." Mrs. Cullen came from behind Edward and sat him on the opposite end of the couch, beside Angela and a boy who had his hand entwined with hers, effectively breaking our eye contact. "Ah, Bella, it's good to see you. How do you feel?"

I feel like a bunch of white suited men shot down a cafeteria, but I guess it's okay because it was just tranquilizers, not bullets. "Uh, fine."

Mrs. Cullen pulled at one of the chairs seated in front of her desk and slid it across from the people across the couches. She waved her hands behind her to indicate that everyone should crowd around us. I looked once more at Edward to find that he was already watching me, he smiled slightly and the butterflies turned into an army of moths. Once everyone in the room was presently in front of her she began.

"Alright, now that I've heard different perspectives and Bella's here upon Alice's unending whining," Mrs. Cullen teased her daughter but when I looked at Alice there was no humor on her face. Instead Alice replied with, "She deserves to know, Mom, and so does the rest of the school."

I had an awful gut feeling that this conversation was not going to end well.

Mrs. Cullen nodded yet remained composed "Alice, you're right. And I'm going to do my best to explain everything but nothing leaves this room. As far as I can tell, the S force has attacked _my_ kids with very little motivation and out of this world violence. I'm sorry boys but this will ultimately be up to the Circle to handle. I'm going to review the arguments that will present themselves at the Circle. Basically, since the lot of you was stupid enough to try and get past the fence the S force was within their rights to detain you. The aggravated battery was not within their rights, since you guys told me they attacked first so we're going to use that to our advantage in the Circle. Unfortunately, they're claiming that Emmett punch one of them first. In this case, I believe we at least have the truth on our side. There's more; the S force claimed that they brought you to the cafeteria as a warning to the other students to not try what they had tried but we've already established that unless I'm present and I have given them consent, they cannot come in any building on campus especially with students present and they know that. However, since Rose moved first they claim the entire outburst in the cafeteria was a result of self defense. They're saying how frightened they are by your sixth sense and combat training so they were forced to act quickly. I hope the Circle won't buy that but it's looking good for us. The Circle meets on Tuesday so we'll at least know by then."

"What's the Circle?" I asked. This wasn't the first time I had heard that name, I recalled it from the conversation I had been eavesdropping from earlier.

"It's basically like a Congress for Union Academy. Since we're a secret from public view, if there's ever any issue we can't really call the police so we go to the Circle. We have representatives who debate on terms of consequences for the accusing side." Mrs. Cullen answered.

"What about the S Force?"

"The S Force is our version of the Coast Guard and police. They monitor the fences surrounding the campus and if there's ever any trouble on campus they're the ones who are supposed to solve it. Unfortunately, we're not on very good terms with them." She responded.

I had an urge to ask about Brains but decided I'd go to Alice for answers when we were alone.

"Mom, this is bull. This isn't the first time they've done something like this! Someone's going to end up hurt, why isn't the Circle doing anything? What about the USFG?" Emmett demanded.

Mrs. Cullen shook her head sadly. "They're a part of the Circle so they're obviously going to vouch for themselves. I'm hoping this time the Circle will get involved more, though. As far as the USFG, they have a country to run and sometimes don't like to be bothered with our matters. It's okay, guys I promise to do my best to fix all this. For now, I need you to go back to your dorms and just stay in that building. All activities are cancelled for today. School will resume tomorrow. Bella I've left your schedule on your desk, Alice will help you with any questions. Right now, I have to go guys. The Circle wants to meet with me; I'll be back in time for school." Mrs. Cullen stood up and held the door open for us. One by one we all exited her office.

I was shot at by the S Force, who's supposedly on our side, I overheard a conversation that basically screamed danger, and all I got was no more than a few minutes to explain for it all. No way could I contain my outrage to Rosalie after we left the room, "Wait so that's it? That's all I get?"

"That's all that happened, what more do you want?" A girl I didn't recognize snapped. She was standing fairly close to Edward and I couldn't help the brief jealousy that zapped through me. I could feel his eyes on me but I chose not to meet them.

"Shut up Lauren." I heard someone from the back say. "You weren't even there, you have no idea what went down."

Lauren rolled her eyes and didn't reply.

"It's okay, Bella. We'll talk in the lounge, for now let's just go." Rosalie said.

I nodded, not quite satisfied as I followed them out of the building. Once we got outside I realized it was night time. How long was I passed out?

"If you want to hear what's up with the S Force, you can ask me." A velvety voice beside me said. I checked to see Edward standing beside me, his body heat giving off gorgeous warmth through the chilly night. His emerald eyes were just as vibrant with the lighting of the moon as they had been in the lit up office. This guy was absolutely beautiful. "I'm not one to keep secrets." He said and I felt like there was a hidden meaning behind those words. "By the way I'm Edward." He held out his hand for me to take and as I placed my hand in his I felt a crumpled piece of paper being put on my palm. I glanced up at him as I retrieved my now fisted hand to see his twinkling eyes. Checking the paper I was shocked to see the elegant script the message was written in. When I looked back up he was gone, already catching up with the rest of the group.

 **A/N: A little long to make up for the shortness of the last chapter, let me know what ya'll think, don't spare my feelings (: Any guesses on what the message says?**


	3. Chapter 3

" _ **Every day I fight a war against the mirror  
I can't take the person staring back at me.**_ _ **"**_

CHAPTER THREE

After Mrs. Cullen had pretty much broken down the cafeteria situation, most people separated as soon as we arrived at the red bricked building and went to their dorms. There were only a few exceptions including the Cullens, Rosalie and Angela, as well as a few others. So instead of heading straight for the elevators we decided to go to the lounge which was on the first floor. I only hoped that Rosalie would give me a more detailed explanation on what the deal with the S Force was. If not, Edward had made it clear that he'd be willing to fill me in.

As soon as I stepped into the lounge, I was immediately in love. Two connected, massive leather couches were situated in front of an amazingly huge flat screen TV. Connected to the TV were three gaming systems, from which I recognized the Wii. Right behind the living area was a super cute mini kitchen with an island. From the entrance I could even see the lush granite and stainless steel appliances that I couldn't wait to get my hands on. I didn't doubt it for a second that there would be outrageous snacks and drinks for us to munch on in between meals. On the opposite side, impressive pool and ping pong tables were situated end to end. Lastly, surround sound speakers were spread throughout the entire room. In short, this room knocked my socks off.

As if on cue, everyone decided to head straight for the couches and I followed suit. In a strange way I felt almost as if I was a seventh wheel because my only friends here were each attached to the hip with their significant other. Thankfully, it was a brief feeling because as everyone got situated on the sofas; Edward made space for me to sit beside him.

"I'm beat." Edward sighed. The bags under his eyes were enough proof to display his weary state but his handsome features were still prominent in spite of this temporary fault.

"Wanna ditch?" A girl whose name I didn't know asked from the other side of him. She had straight brown hair, hazel eyes, and huge boobs hanging out of her v-neck.

He shook his head, not even glancing at her which made me feel surprisingly pleased.

"How you holding up?" Mike asked from beside me.

In all honesty, I was just really confused which caused me to feel pissed off. Mrs. Cullen had promised me that Union Academy was a place that I could feel safe at; here I would learn how to reign in my sixth sense and be capable of coexisting with other people without fear of myself. That on its own was absolutely amazing yet despite all her reassurances, on my very first day the cafeteria was shot down. That's got to be the worst first impression I've seen in my life. On top of that, there's not even any sort of legal action that can be taken against the S Force so we're practically left to twiddle our thumbs and wait to hear what the Circle has to say. What's even worse is that that's not even the first time that the S Force has crossed the line with the students. That definitely doesn't make me feel safe at all. This is all summing up to a pretty sucky first day.

"Bella?" Mike asked again.

I blinked a few times, realizing how drowsy the after effects of the tranquilizers were having on me. "Okay, thanks."

Looking on the other side of Mike I quickly noticed that Alice had dozed off on Jasper while he talked quietly with Angela and a boy who I was assuming was her boyfriend considering they were holding hands. Rosalie, on the other hand, was straddling Emmett's lap as they engaged in a passionate make out session. No one seemed to mind, though, or if they did they were hiding it well.

Averting my eyes, I mumbled "I'm going to go see if they have something in the fridge."

"We literally just had dinner." _Excuse me?_

I had risen from my seat only to be stopped by something that sounded like either an objection or critique. Considering it was coming out of Lauren's mouth it was probably both.

"She didn't eat. She's been out since breakfast." Edward replied coolly. It was a surprise to hear him speak up for me considering we hadn't known each other for more than a few hours. He turned his head towards me, "I'll come with you." He had surprised me yet again.

We walked away from the living area and I took the opportunity to pronounce my gratitude, "Thanks,"

He chuckled and I was pretty sure my soul melted, "For what?"

"Sticking up for me, I guess." It sounded silly coming out of my mouth but it was the truth.

Arriving at the kitchen took no more than a few seconds and I could barely contain my excitement as I opened the fridge to find it stocked with various food items.

"I could've saved you something from dinner if I knew you were going to be this happy about food." Edward commented jokingly.

I grinned, "Like you said I haven't eaten since breakfast." Of course I was asleep for the majority of the time but I found that I could really go for a mean ham sandwich.

Taking out the ingredients I set them on the island while I put some bread to toast. Edward grabbed himself a glass of milk and went to sit on the stool. I figured that this was the perfect time to ask him about the Circle and the S Force considering Rosalie was busy smacking lips with Emmett. "So do you want to fill me in on the S Force and the full story about what happened today?" I eyed him as I slowly picked out pieces of deli ham and turkey.

A mischievous glint in his eyes twinkled as he leaned forward, "Well, I'm not typically one to kiss and tell."

My breath caught and I squished the slice of ham in between my pointer finger and thumb. I was also pretty sure a blush rose to my cheeks but I made it my mission to keep my cool. I kept steady eye contact with him and replied in a challenging tone, "I'll make you a deal for the secrets you were so willing to reveal earlier."

Edward nodded, amused "I'm listening."

I hoped that the poker face I was trying to put on didn't expose how giddy I was on the inside, "Well, you see, I'm about to make a bomb ham and cheese sandwich but I can easily make it a double if you spill."

He smirked, torturing me further, "Well, now who can resist that?"

I chuckled, "Edward, that's kind of the point."

"In that case you've got a deal."

 _Ting!_ The bread popped out of the toaster, making Edward and I both jump. I hadn't even realized how inclined we were to each other until I had to lean back to get the bread out of the toaster. I quickly steadied myself and put two more slices in for the second sandwich I was now making.

"Mayonnaise and mustard?" I asked, ready to smear some on each side of the bread.

"Yes, please." He replied.

"Alright, Edward I'm working hard so don't hold back on me." I insisted as I swiped the bread slices with mayonnaise.

"I'm sure you're familiar with some of the social and legal aspects of US history." Edward began, "Let's start with Native Americans, what did the colonists do to them as soon as they got here? They enslaved them, made them work hard because of their significant strength. They took their gold and precious metals because of their value. What about African Americans? They were considered to be inferior to whites, nothing more than property. People tolerated them because of the work they were capable of, thus being important to the economy of the Union. Fast forward to the Japanese; because the government was afraid and felt threatened by Japan, Japanese Americans were sent to the grueling environments of concentration camps, not a care by the government was given toward their fates. Even past that, on a more social aspect, let's talk about homosexuals. We accused them of starting the goddamn AIDS virus. Why did we do that? They were considered religious abominations and we needed someone to blame, a group of people to direct our anger and frustrations on to make us feel better. Throughout all of this, our mighty Constitution was the law of the land, the highest of powers which specifically forbade all these injustices. Did that stop the USFG? Absolutely not. Now let's say there was a group of people that was all these things; Group A was strong and intelligent, capable of many outlandish things such as, you know, for example, military combat and technological intelligence. They were also considered valuable because of the labor they offered to Group B, in fact they were _created_ to live and serve Group B. Group A was also intimidating because they were a powerful group, they had inhumane and unimaginable capacities. The last characteristic, Group B was ultimately considered a sin of nature, a group that should not be allowed to live because God this and God that and holy Jesus, blah, blah, blah. Now Group A was a secret to everyone except Group B and everyone loved and, even worse, believed everything Group B said. What's stopping Group B from demolishing Group A without the fear of any consequences at all?"

Edward paused and stared expectantly at me, I had a feeling this wasn't a rhetorical question. All of what Edward had just listed obviously sounded awful and it was chilling to hear the stark similarities that Group A had with the students at Union Academy. Regardless I took everything into consideration as I was taught in my years spent on the forensics league and answered as I normally would in a debate round, "As you just explained, Group A is valuable to Group B. Group B isn't going to destroy something they depend on, there's no logic in that as they would just be harming themselves."

He smiled and I felt like I had walked into one of those sneaky argument traps opponents typically planted on each other, "Exactly. Group B likes the work Group A does for them so they keep them around. Unfortunately, Group B is busy a lot so it decides to implement a small governing system that will alleviate the overlooking Group B has to have on Group A. Over time, Group B gets more and more detached from Group A since it still seems to be working alright. Meanwhile, Group A is struggling in the governing system it was placed in. Although the system sounded good on paper, in practice it's not going too well. It's going pretty fucking awful actually. Now in case you haven't realized it yet, we're Group A, Bella."

"So you're saying that Union Academy is chill with the USFG but the government's too busy to really monitor our situation?" I asked for clarification.

"Precisely. The USFG is basically the mommy telling Union Academy, 'you ungrateful sons of bitches, ISIL is currently terrorizing the world while expanding their caliphate and you're over here pouting because the S Force stole your candy bar? You can handle it.' In other words, they have more serious matters on their hands and are probably so deluded with pride that they actually believe that their oh so amazing idea at making us self govern is working." Edward replied.

I tediously smeared some condiments on the other two bread slices that popped out of the toaster midway through Edward's speech. "Is that why the S Force shot up the cafeteria, they know they won't get in trouble for it?"

He took a big sip of milk and swallowed, "Yup. If there aren't any consequences then who cares, right? Aside from that, though, they absolutely hate us. They're convinced that we're freaks of science and don't deserve to live."

"Well that's harsh. So what's the reason the small government the USFG set up isn't working?" I questioned.

"It's a combination of things. First, our little Union is made up of three operations: Union Academy, S Force, and Brains."

"What's Brains?" I blurted out before he could continue.

He looked at me curiously before he answered. "I'm getting to that. First I'll start with Union Academy. Its purpose is to train the next generation into the best weapons the USFG can use. S Force is, like my mom said, a combination of the coast guard and the police. No one goes in or our without their consent. Lastly, Brains is in charge of studying us and continuing with bionic experiments. They also account for the medical staff. The idea behind our union was mostly checking on each other to make sure we're each doing as we're told however there is no balance. Brains doesn't need the S force to function and vice versa. Union Academy hates the S Force because they have too much power with all their weapons. Similarly, S Force doesn't give a fuck about Union Academy unless it involves screwing with us. That's where corruption begins. You see? There isn't a flow among the three branches. With all the tension climbing between Union Academy and S Force, we're slowly crumbling as Brains tries to patch up the falling pieces. It's not working. So who do we go to now that the USFG specifically demanded it be left alone unless it was absolutely necessary? The Circle. It's sort of like Congress. Ten representatives from each branch are members and vote on laws, consequences, budgets, and shit like that. Again, that was also a good idea but in practice it's pretty weak. For instance, there's a majority vote that Pablo from the S Force is at fault for stealing the cookie. Whose job is it to give Pablo consequences? The S Force. Therefore, it's the S Force's job to give Pablo a time out but the S Force really likes Pablo so instead they just tell him not to do it again and send him on his way. That's not very effective as far as authority goes, is it?"

I shake my head, completely engrossed in everything Edward was telling me. The sandwiches were long forgotten as I leaned into Edward, hanging on his every word.

"As the S Force keeps doing the same bullshit time and time again, isn't it fair that Union Academy is tired of it?" Edward asked.

"Yeah." I whispered. "Isn't there something we can do?"

He chuckled darkly, "Bella, what do you think the boys and I were trying to do? Honestly, Bella, we're kind of trapped here without any control. It's ironic, it's every guys dream to live in a place with no rules but it's just too bad that other people live there too. We'll be juniors tomorrow but what about after we graduate? We'll be given a list of jobs we can have with the US government, either a spot in one of the federal branches or a spot in Union Academy or Brains. No more than twenty options. We live here two to six years and then go work for the same government that didn't give a rat's ass what happened to us while we were here."

"Edward this is the only place we'll learn to control our sixth sense, we have to be here." I tried reasoning with him but it sounded like lies escaping my mouth in a small attempt to convince myself.

"Controlling your sixth sense doesn't take long. About two weeks to a few months. It's nothing we can't do on our own with a little discipline. We contain our sixth sense and head straight into training. We graduate, work and are assigned marriage with someone from Union Academy, to keep the gene going pure. We have kids and watch them do the exact same thing. Honestly, we're a game piece of the government." He muttered.

This was so much revelation on the negative side of Union Academy that I felt sickened to my core. I couldn't believe everyone could just walk around knowing this was their fate, knowing the corruption and even feeling the consequences of it. This was mad! But it's the system. For now, I needed this place but in six months or less I'd be in the exact same position as Edward, as everyone else here. I've never felt so much dread in my life.

Shaking my head I stared at Edward with harsh intensity and determination in my eyes, "I'm not going to be a game piece, Edward. Neither are you, for that matter or Rosalie, or Emmett, Alice and Angela. We need to do something."

"Do something about what?" A shrill voice behind me asked.

I broke eye contact with Edward and it didn't escape my notice that he had been leaning into me and had to compose himself. The thought brought slight warmth to the coldness the reality of Union Academy had clouded me with.

"Everyone left, Alice told me to tell you that she had gone back to her room. The other girls did too and most of the boys. It's just us, Lauren, and Mike left down here." It was the girl with the big boobs.

I nodded, "Thanks, uh what's your name?"

The moment the question came out she acted as if it was somehow socially offensive to not know a strangers name, she stiffened her back and pushed her shoulders out, effectively shoving her boobs as far out as possible as well as sticking her nose in the air. "I'm Jessica."

"Nice to meet you." I replied automatically.

She didn't even look at me as she responded; her eyes and entire body were trained entirely on Edward. I mean I knew he was gorgeous but desperate much? "Yeah, same. Hey, Edward I was wondering if you wanted to-"

"Actually, Bella and I were just leaving. We were making you guys some sandwiches but you can finish them now that you're here. Goodnight, Jessica." Edward grabbed my hand ( _oh my gosh, he's holding my hand)_ and led me out of the kitchen.

"Wait are you guys leaving?" I heard Mike ask and I wanted a hole to open in the ground and swallow him so he wouldn't interrupt the only time Edward had shown me any sort of physical contact.

Edward didn't say anything and I certainly wasn't going to answer but Mike brought it upon himself to join us as Lauren's protests were drowned out by my hate for Mike's ability to not take a fucking clue.

Mike caught up to us before the elevator doors had opened and to my girly disappointment Edward slowly released my hand.

I could sense Edward's annoyance as it matched exactly what I was feeling deep inside except I wasn't as open about it as Edward seemed to be. To comfort him somewhat I nudged his elbow with mine but was interrupted once again by Mike.

"Long day, eh?"

"Yeah, I guess we're all tired." I was surprised to hear my voice sound polite considering I was tying his shoe laces together in my head.

The elevator doors swung open, allowing each of us inside.

It had to be the most awkward elevator ride of my life.

As the elevator doors stopped on the second floor I knew I had to say goodbye to Edward for the night but he beat me to it by sneakily whispering in my ear, "Don't forget what I gave you." He then continued in a regular voice, "Goodnight, Bella. See you tomorrow."

"Goodnight, Edward." See you.

"Bye, Bella!" Mike said as he gave me a quick side hug. I couldn't find it in me to be annoyed anymore by Mike's antics and just took him for who he was.

The doors closed after the boys, signaling the end of the night.

"Bella! Wake up it's time for school!" Alice's devilish voice nearly brought tears to my eyes. I've never wanted to skip classes more in my life than I did today. The sad part is that I was very open to Union Academy and had actually found some sort of acceptance with it but as soon as I had gotten the chance to reflect on what Edward had revealed to me, I couldn't feel more trapped. Sure now I need this school but later on they're going to need me and they're not even going to give me a choice about.

 _Democratic government my ass._

Last night I had hoped that Alice would be awake so I could talk to her more about Union Academy and its obviously dangerous relationship with the S Force but she had been absolutely absent once I'd gotten into the room. Looking back on it, I couldn't be more relieved that she had probably been with Jasper. With my Edward crushing frenzy and dread for my future I would have probably bombarded Alice with really weird questions that would have made everything worse. I could see it now: Bella the conspiracy innovator.

Praying I had at the very least a decent day, I got up from bed and began getting ready. Living with Alice so far has been great; she gave me my space when I needed it and then invaded it from time to time. She was just such an awesome person and today she had even laid at an outfit for me as she reviewed my schedule. I seriously loved that pixie.

As Alice made comments about my schedule I think that Mrs. Cullen went out of her way to at least place me in three classes with Alice which I appreciated tremendously. All in all, my schedule was pretty basic with six periods, aside from the fact that I had "Sensory adaptation" for second period, "Software intelligence" for third and "Physical training" for first which was two hours long. I was surprised they even placed me in Science, History, and Teachers Assisting.

Alice promised me that today wasn't going to be too tough since underclassmen and upperclassmen are placed in separate dorm buildings everyone was going to go through the similar phase of getting to know each other. That made me slightly relieved.

"Hey do you mind if we go to Jaspers room real quick? I left my schedule in there; we can meet the girls at breakfast," Asked Alice as we exited our own room.

"No, it's okay." I've never been on the second floor as it was the boys floor but I was curious to check it out and this was as best of a time as ever.

The elevator ride was quick and once the doors opened I could tell there weren't any physical differences in terms of appearance but, unlike our floor, most if not all of the doors were wide open and the people inside were even talking to each other across the hall. Ignoring my better judgment, I peeked in some of the rooms out of curiosity while Alice and I made our way down the hall and, to my stark embarrassment, found that most of the guys weren't even dressed yet and sported absolutely no shirt.

"It's this one," Alice announced as she allowed us into the slightly ajar door.

"Wait, what room is this?" I asked quickly as we delved further inside.

"It's Room 216." A masculine voice answered behind me. I didn't even have to turn around to know who it was; I'd recognize that voice anywhere.

Regardless, I did turn around to see Edward with nothing but a towel on. Water droplets dripped down his sculpted chest, the sculpted chest that was level to my vision and just a foot away from me. My heart skipped a beat and picked up in speed, pounding through my chest in approval of the gorgeous guy standing in front of me. His abs were incredible, matching the muscularity of the rest of him; his arms, his legs, his broad shoulders, even the veins that ran down his arms. The best part, though, was that marvelous v line leading to uncharted territory.

 _In that case, call me Indiana Jones._

"Hey, Edward, did Jazzy get into the shower already?" Alice asked, completely unaffected by Edward's striking beauty. I tried my best to look away, at anything but him but in that I ended up making eye contact with him; the look on his face said he saw right through me like my unspoken thoughts were on full display for him to read.

Edward still held my stare while he answered. "Yeah but you could probably catch him before he gets in." She said a quick thanks before heading in the direction of the shower, effectively leaving Edward and I alone.

With that, I brought it upon myself to ask him about the note he gave me yesterday, "Why'd you give me your room number?"

I recounted the elegant script which said ' _If you're searching, you'll find… 216.'_ I had thought it was a room number considering it was on the second floor which was the boy's floor but then my thoughts wandered to classrooms and birthdays, efficiently confusing me further.

He seemed to catch on pretty quick as to what I was referring to and approached me a bit closer, "Well, we're not allowed to use phones here."

"So you wanted me to come to your room to talk?" I clarified.

He nodded while smiling to himself causing his wet hair to ooze water down his neck and further down. "Yeah, although we did do a lot of talking last night. How you feeling?"

I shrugged, "Not really happy about this situation."

He laughed, stepping around me. He smelled absolutely mouthwatering. "You're not alone."

I turned to keep conversation going as he headed towards his dresser.

"Jasper!" A heavy moan sounded from the bathroom and I nearly choked on my saliva. Gosh, Alice, you couldn't have waited a bit?

Edward cringed, "Oh, God. We're leaving." He turned back around to reach inside his dresser which gave me a spectacular view of his taut back. Edward reeked of strength as his muscles stretched and his shoulders rotated while he reached for different articles of clothing in his drawer. Before long, Edward stilled. I glimpsed at the mirror to see what happened but I was met with a pair of cocky green eyes.

Before Edward had a chance to say anything I spun around. "Uh, sorry, I'll just meet you in the cafeteria."

Edward responded instantaneously, "No, it's okay just keep your back to me I'll dress quickly."

"Ohhh!" We heard another moan elicit from the bathroom as a bang hit the door. Even I cringed this time and begged Edward to hurry before I headed to the front door to wait.

Standing by the door I could peer across the hall into the room across. The door was wide open yet I couldn't see anyone inside. What I did find strange, though, was the insanely complex computer system the boy had. Wires upon wires stemmed from three computer screens on a single desk. The guy even had what looked like a mini satellite. I'm guessing he either enjoyed his technology or was assigned the complicated set up for homework. I was hoping it was the former considering I had the computer skills of a visually impaired five year old with seven fingers.

Still waiting, groups of guys passed by the open door and as they did I tried my best to ignore them. Of course they all looked at me on their way to the elevator which gave me lots of discomfort but I just hoped my feelings weren't as obvious to them as they were to Edward. Each time I looked at him I felt as though he could read me as clearly as if I was voicing my thoughts; a quite unsettling yet sometimes comforting effect.

As soon as I noticed a group of three boys exiting one of the dorms I knew it wasn't going to be pretty by the way the red head in the middle saw me and started walking my way with purpose and pure mischief in his eyes. I reconsidered going back into the room but didn't want to chance walking in on a naked Edward. The Lord knew my gooey heart wouldn't be able to handle that. Besides, I didn't want to look like I was scared of him because I had no valid reason to be.

The red head got closer and closer to me as his posse of two followed behind him. I refused to give him the satisfaction of seeing me uncomfortable so I crossed my arm and gave him the best disinterested look I could muster. When he was about two feet away I heard his throaty voice say, "Hey, sugar, easy with that shirt you know I got X-Ray vision and sometimes I just can't help myself."

I had .2 seconds of thinking of a witty reply or not responding at all when I felt a body stand behind me. I knew who it was by the familiar spicy scent I had inhaled as he had slipped past me not ten minutes ago.

"Fuck off, Riley." Edward's demanding voice said.

Riley narrowed his eyes, glanced at me quickly, then back at Edward. He seemed to be assessing the situation but I hoped that despite the fact we were outnumbered Riley and his friends would choose to leave. "Whatever, Cullen." Riley muttered. He stared once more at me and made it painfully obvious that he was checking out my cleavage. He smirked as he left and I wanted nothing more than to wipe the annoying ass pleasure in his fucking face and show him just how quick I could burn his dick off.

"You okay?" Edward's voice was surprisingly gentle which I appreciated but found that the anger I was feeling still hadn't dissipated.

"Yeah, you ready?" I asked hoping he wouldn't make any comments.

I saw him grab his book bag and pound on the bathroom door "I better see you guys in first period or I'm going to kick your ass Jasper!" He then walked back to me, "Let's go."

On the way to breakfast all my first day jitters had pretty much left me as I found out that I shared "Physical training", "Software intelligence", and Chemistry with Edward. Not only did I not have to worry about being by myself but, of all people, I got to hang out with Edward which was always a plus.

We made our way to the cafeteria and my smile easily dropped as Lauren and Jessica came up to us, or should I say Edward. "Morning, Edward, we saved you a seat."

"I'll see you," I said as I unwillingly left him in the grasping tentacles of the girls.

"No wait," He grabbed a hold of my arm as I began walking off. He turned to the girls and said a parting farewell, "No, thanks."

Gymnast butterflies took turns jumping and flipping in my stomach as he put his hand on my back and rapidly led us to the breakfast buffet. Each touch, each stare, and each time my name escaped his lips had me smiling like an overly enthusiastic idiot and this time was no exception.

He took a plate and as he was passing it to me he looked me right in the eyes and said "Trust me when I say I'd rather sit with you any day than with them." His emerald eyes held raw honesty, captivating me in their depth which no guy in my life has ever had. I'm pretty sure I would've stared into his eyes all day long if it hadn't been for Emmett who patted him on the back, interrupting the itty bitty, island sized moment we were having.

"Hope you're not hogging Bella little bro." Emmett joked.

"Hey, Bells." Rosalie chimed and grabbed herself a plate. "Where's Alice?" She noted.

I couldn't help but grin and decided to reply in truth. "She's hanging out with Jasper; they're running a bit late."

Edward barked a laugh before correcting me, "She's _making out_ with Jasper, Bella and I got out of there as soon as we could. They're louder than you and Emmett."

It was probably the third time that day that I was choking on my breath. Rosalie reflected my emotions as her eyes grew as big as saucers and her cheeks gained a lovely blush. Emmett, on the other hand, seemed quite unaffected and actually embraced this accusation "Fuck yeah, you gotta learn little Eddie, that's how you know you're hitting it just-"

"Emmett!" Rosalie smacked him behind the head, a feat on its own when you take into account his massive height. He just sniggered but ended up hugging her waist from behind and peppering cute kisses down her red neck.

Feeling like they'd appreciate some privacy I turned away and began piling my plate sky high. Edward joined me and together we continued our morning while the lovebirds loved on each other.

For first period I had 'Physical Training' which I soon found out was a class dedicated for all the juniors and seniors. It was crazy to think that we could all be cramped in a single period but Angela had explained that games like capture the flag and paintball fights were more fun with more people. In addition, she had explained that nearly an entire building was dedicated to the gym so size wasn't going to be an issue as everyone would fit comfortably; there were even ten coaches to monitor all 240 upperclassmen. Lastly, the Cullens and Hales were both in my first period along with Angela and her boyfriend whose name I found out was Ben much to my delight.

By protocol, we all had to dress out the first day as the class would immediately start. It seemed a bit rigged out but since everyone lived on campus I guess first day introductions just weren't matters they bothered with. Besides, everyone would ultimately graduate with Harvard diplomas. I just hoped that now that I was going to be put against people with similar physical capacities as myself, I wouldn't end up finding out that I was a royal loser.

"Ready, Bella?" Angela asked as I finished the knot on my pony tail. I nodded following her out of the locker room and to the gym.

"What do we usually do the first day?" I questioned as I began stretching like the other girls. It felt a little uncomfortable to do so in the small shorts they had packaged in the locker room but I figured that once we got outside the heat would make me grateful for the lacking length of the uniform.

In between a toe touch break Alice answered, "First we run and then they set us up against someone to fight, ten at a time until they trust us to not kill each other which will basically be in a few weeks. Everyone watches but everyone also sucks the first day so it's not that big a deal. Sometimes they do boy-boy, girl-girl, but other times they mix us up. Trust me; you'll learn to like it."

I dreaded the serious ass whooping I was bound to get.

As soon as one of the coaches blew the whistle, people began filing out in five separate exits. I was guessing that it was standard procedure that's been implemented in the course. Unfortunately, Alice forgot to mention that the running wasn't just a simple mile; it was five. Luckily, it wasn't too hard but it felt abnormal not being first to finish. In fact, it brought out the competitive side in me to see the other boys and girls finish first. I made it my mission to continue practicing, something I didn't really have an obligation to do when I competed against normal high school student.

Heading inside, I was walking beside Angela and found it hard to catch anyone else that I knew due to the overwhelming size of the class in addition to the fact that some people were still finishing their laps.

"Hey, girls, come sit over here." Alice waved her hand at us from a seat she was sharing with Ben on the bleachers.

We took her offer graciously and sat down. "Are you sure everyone's going to be able to fit on the bleachers?" I asked. They were filling up quickly and I was pretty sure not even half the students had been situated.

"Oh, yeah, totally. Once everyone's here they'll pull out the bleachers on the other side." Alice answered.

I didn't recognize anyone in our class but my displeasure sky rocketed through the roof as soon as I saw Riley from this morning. It sucked that he had to be in our class. Unfortunately, he noticed me sitting with Alice and Angela and began heading our way. I couldn't help but hope he somehow tripped on his climb towards us so he'd end up bloody and disconfigured, thus unable to sit with us.

"Ew, don't look now but it looks like Riley's coming to sit with us." Angela muttered.

"Wait, how do you know Riley?" I asked, surprised she also had the displeasure of meeting that asshole.

Alice scoffed, "Who doesn't know him? And can I be that person? He's a slime and pisses everyone off. Last year, he had a girlfriend but rumors started spreading that she broke up with him because he was abusive. Everyone's hated him before that but afterwards not even the teachers or boys could fathom a conversation with him."

Of course there was always a jerk at every school but hearing that he was a women abuser angered the fuck off out of me. I had assumed that Edward's reaction to him this morning was because of me but, considering his past, I wouldn't be surprised if there was already a foundational hatred for that boy. He deserved all the shit that everyone gave him.

"I'd kick his ass if he ever even talked to you." Ben announced to Angela. I grinned, boys and their testosterone. She thanked him tenfold as they cuddled together and commenced with their own private conversation.

A body sat beside me and I was expecting to see Riley even though logic told me he couldn't have walked that quickly to us. My heart leaped and sang when I saw it was Edward who had situated his body next to mine. Emmett, Rosalie, and Jasper followed close and sat behind us.

"Hey," Edward whispered, a bit out of breath from the run. I suspected that he would've been one of the first ones to finish but his ragged breathing made me question my assumption.

"Hey, how was the run?" I replied.

He groaned, "Coach Harris made Emmett, Jasper, and I run an en extra mile."

I laughed at his misfortune, "Why? What'd you do?"

After seeing Edward half naked I was fairly certain that nothing would ever be able to beat that but seeing his shirt pressed against his chest as sweat coated it and dripped down his face, I found that athletic Edward was definitely a close second. Something about the sweat of his hard work was positively appealing to my grateful eyes.

"Well if you must know," Emmett declared from behind me. "Little Eddie was trying to race Jasper and I for the umpteenth time. We already know he's faster but apparently his _Little_ Eddie gets off on it or something." At this, a hot blush sprouted across my cheeks. "Anyways, Jasper and I were tired of it as he hounded us around the perimeter so we decided to trip him a few times while simultaneously taking off his shirt and pantsing him." I gasped in shock, tripping was one thing but pantsing was absolutely mortifying! "Coach saw us and made all three of us run an extra mile."

I shook my head and teased, "Aw, you guys are cruel."

A loud whistle interrupted us but Edward gave my shoulder a squeeze, letting me know he appreciated that I was on his side. I mean, how could I not be?

"Listen up!" A fairly muscular coach from the front of the room announced with a blow horn in his hand. "If you're new this year stand up." I looked at Edward, silently questioning whether or not I should obey.

"Yeah he already has a roster and he'll give you hell for lying." Edward whispered.

I stood up along with the other new kids and noticed throughout the room that there were about thirty or forty of us.

"Alright you guys are going first!"

I groaned, just waiting for the pain that I knew would soon follow.

From a distance I could feel stares engraving themselves onto my side, looking over I saw Riley's friend was one of the students standing up. Riley smirked wickedly and whispered something into his friend's ear as he held my glance. His friend nodded, also staring at me. It didn't' take a genius to know they were plotting something.

"Shit." I muttered. Alice and Edward looked over at them and Alice cursed.

"Sometimes they let you choose your opponents." Alice said, sounding just as excited as I was. "So if you can, avoid him. Riley's friends are just as bad as him."

"Don't worry if he tries something I'll kick his ass." Edward announced stonily. He was looking directly at Riley as he said this, in a silent stare down. I felt comforted by this, remembering what Ben had said earlier to Angela. The protective voice he used was enough to make any girl feel giddy but I tried to keep my tone mellow as I replied.

"Thanks, but if he tries something you'll have to hold me back from kicking his ass." This made Edward crack a smile.

The coach blew the whistle again, "All of you get down here!"

As I slipped past Edward he squeezed my arm in reassurance.

 _I got this._

There were more boys than there were girls, making me further uncomfortable. I recalled Rosalie saying that sometimes they would pair us up with guys but since I've never been in a fight in my entire life I just hoped I wouldn't have to face a guy for my first time. Not only that, but the uneven sexes made the likelihood of going against Riley's friend even higher.

 _This was going to suck._

One of the coaches came up to the lot of us. "There's 36 of you. We've got too many guys so sorry ladies but you're going to have to learn combat against them anyways."

 _Crap._

"We'll pair you up then go on the blue mats and wait for two whistles. Today's just to see what you can do. Go easy on each other or I'll knock the both of you out. If I see blood, it's over." The coaches gum was popping all over his mouth, distracting me from what he was saying.

They started pairing people by who they were standing next to and I felt the utmost pity when a short, overweight girl was paired against a guy resembling a soccer athlete. I hope I didn't have to end up with the same fate as hers.

I felt someone yank my shoulder and spin me around, sliding a hand on my waist. I already knew whose face I was going to see and desperately tried to get him to loosen his hold before one of the coaches came by.  
"Fuck, off!" I spit as I jabbed my elbow into his side.

Riley's friend's hold loosened enough for me to be free but it wasn't enough for me to get away from him.

"You and you." The coach pointed a finger at my face and Riley's friend, setting us up as a pair.

Dread filled my veins as I struggled to contain my frustrations.

"Let's go, sugar." He demanded. His beady eyes and pointy nose made him seem like a hawk, just waiting to pounce in his prey.

I huffed and walked past him toward the area with the blue mats. "Screw you."

I felt his arm rest around my shoulder and I pushed him away from me causing him to stumble and struggle to catch his footing to avoid falling. The nerve of this fucking imbecile! My blood boiled. Despite his superior height and most likely strength I thanked the Lord that he was lanky. Hopefully he wouldn't be too hard to beat. I didn't try to fool myself, though; I knew the chances of that were slim.

"Calm it down, the fight hasn't started but get your asses moving!" One of the coaches yelled since we were the last ones on the mat.

The crowd didn't both me, I was used to the audience from experiences in final debate rounds and track competitions. Yet I still searched the onlookers for a pair of forest green eyes that would no doubt comfort me.

"Alright, listen up!" I snapped my eyes away from the students to hear one of the coaches speak. "I want to see a clean fight. Do whatever it takes to get your opponent on the floor and surrendering there. Let's see what you got."

Two whistles followed his sentence and I became instantly aware of the raven haired boy standing ten feet away.

"Bella, is it?" He asked as he took slow steps toward me. I refused to move. "Well, Bella, I really don't know what you're doing hanging around Cullen all the time but let me tell you, Riley is pissed. Since I'm Riley's friend, I'm going to do whatever it takes to make this as painful as possible." I gulped, my façade slowly slipping as I realized the torture he planned on putting me through.

With that, he charged for me. Even though there was just a small space between us I knew that with the speed he was going at, if he caught me I would end up a pancake on the ground. I waited and braced myself for him to come closer and once he was about two feet away I crouched and threw myself to the side, making him pass me but I wasn't far enough away because as he braked he swung his arm to the side, catching the back of my shirt. I was propelled back and slammed against his chest.

"Not so fast, bitch." He muttered as he held my body against his. Before he had time to think of what sort of torture to implant on me, I swung around and punched him directly on the nose, knowing that with a nose as large as his there would be a delicate bone beneath. He faltered, gasping in pain and I took the opportunity to wedge my leg in between his and, pulling it forward while pushing on his chest, I was able to make him fall flat on his ass. Seeming to have recovered, he didn't let me escape and bear hugged my legs together. To my extreme surprise, he was able to push off the ground and carry me in his arms. I braced myself for what I knew came next. In no less than two seconds he slammed me to the ground. My breath heaved, oh gosh this was awful. My back arched in prickling pain as the impact of the fall effected my poor spine and I couldn't help the moan that escaped me.

"Moan for me like that again, sugar."

He was _so_ unfairly cruel and for a brief second I wondered what had shaped him that way but then I decided it didn't matter. There was no excuse. I got up, ignoring the complaints of my back. He didn't let me stay up for long though because as soon as I managed to be on my feet he punched me right on my cheek. My head whipped to the side as fire flamed through my face. It was unbearable. I would've even fallen to the ground if it weren't for the fact that he snatched me to his chest again and forced me to stand upright. He gripped my ponytail in his hands and yanked it to the side, extending my neck. He then knocked my legs from underneath me and I collapsed onto my knees. His hand didn't let go of my hair as he kept his grip on it, practically ripping off my scalp. Tears of humiliation welled in my eyes as I realized the submissive position I was in as I kneeled with him standing right in front of me. How dare he? I'd never done anything to him in my life. "That's it baby, get used to this." He mocked, only fueling my frustration and anger as he moved my head closer to his groin.

My anger kept escalating and I clasped his arm in both of mine, bringing him down with my strength and weight. Fortunately it worked, however I ended up half under him as I tried to squirm away. He was on his hands and knees but I managed a strong kick to his lower back with my free leg, collapsing him, and followed it by slamming his face on the ground. Enraged, he still didn't allow me any escape and used his weight to his advantage. As one of my legs was trapped under him, he crawled up my body and positioned his legs on either side of my waist. I furiously tried escape but everything was futile with his body weight. I moved my hands across his chest to push him off but he was unfazed. Dammit. One of his hands came up to my shoulders and pressed me firmly against the mat while the other creeped from my belly button, up my stomach, and momentarily paused on my breasts. "Remember this moment, sugar." He was a dirty fucking animal.

"Fuck you," I spat as I slapped his arm away. He wrenched my wrist and pulled his arm back while fisting his knuckles.

Then he roared a foul mouthed scream. "You bitch!" He yelled as his he looked at his agonizingly blistered hands and jumped off of me.

Momentarily confused, I eased up slowly only to be kicked onto my side when I came into realization of what was going on. I didn't allow the pain to filter me and instead stood back up. He was stupid enough to tackle me again but as soon as he made skin contact with me a blood curdling scream erupted from him; he could do nothing while gravity kept us intertwined as we collided with the floor. My back cried in unison with my lungs especially with him on top of me but with this small advantage my sixth sense brought me I decided to ignore it the best I could and punch him the with all my remaining strength.

His hoarse cries continued as he tried pushing off me. Unfortunately for him, my skin was for the most part exposed and each second touching me was like sticking your hand on a fiery stove. Finally, he punched my chest hard enough and the force of the impact had me wheezing for air that I barely noticed him getting off me.

"Help! Holy fuck, my face! Aghh!" I could hear his cries that were soon followed with a kick to my side.

I rolled over, desperately trying to force my lungs to work.

"You motherfucking bitch!" He exclaimed but was then interrupted with two whistles. "Alright, break it up! Stop –holy shit! We need a medic! Get some water!" I heard a distant voice announce and I wondered how badly I was hurt. Right now, my ears were ringing and each breath hurt like stabbing needles but I couldn't feel any broken limbs.

"My face!" Riley's friend exclaimed.

I was able to sit up, still in extreme pain and looked up to see him crouched in on himself as one of the coaches poured water on his face and body. Then I realized the medic was for him: he was entirely red, with blisters on his face, arms, and legs. The pain he was enduring was undoubtedly awful as he groaned in agony. He looked absolutely awful and I couldn't help the immediate guilt I felt for having caused that. Despite the monster that he was, I had no right to be a monster too. I was no better than him. But I couldn't even control it! I did this unknowingly and then had no idea how to stop it or turn it off, yet it was still my fault. This was my entire fault and now Dr. Cullen was going to come down here and think that I purposely burned someone. Not only that, but this was the second time I was in a fight with someone and my sixth sense showed up. Dr. Cullen was probably the one that healed my other victim too! I needed to control this before anyone else got hurt, before I hurt anyone else.

The coach walked over to me, "What the fuck did you do to him?" He demanded.

At a loss for words, I opened my mouth and found nothing coming out.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Super sorry about the wait. I suck. School and stuff had me occupied. Sorry! Won't happen again and I just wanted to get this out to you all ASAP updates will be regular now (:**

 _ **You think you're right, but you were wrong**_

 **CHAPTER FOUR**

"So tell me again what happened but this time use nice words," The guidance counselor, Mrs. Cope, resembled the ancient grandmother from _Courage of the Cowardly Dog_ fit with both the crooked nose and the coffee stained teeth. Really, though, in all truthfulness she was no better than a pre-k teacher whose biggest worry was snack time as she tried to console me and Riley's friend whom I eventually found out his name was Peter.

After our fight first period fight, we both entered the medic wing to quickly get checked up on but whereas I had gotten a pill that immediately assuaged my bruised body, Peter had been subjected to hours behind a curtain and even after all the prodding havoc wrecked on his face, it was still blistering. The torment didn't end there; due to the severity of Peter's injuries and the obvious hatred we had for each other, we were both sent to an hour session with Mrs. Cope the Pre Historic Guidance Counselor for some time to 'settle or differences'. Unfortunately for me, these sessions would have to last for at least another week.

We were pretty much done with the required time of an hour of our first session and I'm somewhat surprised that Peter hadn't tried to attack me. However I'm pretty sure that he was fended off by the security officer situated behind the door of Mrs. Cope's office; otherwise he would've pounced on me in seconds once we were behind closed doors. I could tell just by the way he looked at me that he was in no way fazed by my outburst and did not see me as a threat to his six foot stature.

"Okie dokie, then I think this session went well! What do you both think?" Mrs. Cope asked as she handed us each a chocolate chip cookie. I took the cookie and quietly thanked her as Peter glared at me while I chewed it. I glared back and hoped he choked. "Well, I won't escort you but I'll let your third period teachers know that you should be in class as soon as the bell rings so don't try any funny business although you both seem like extremely well put together kids with a strong head on both your shoulders so I don't mean to imply anything but I'm sure you know how some kids can be these days what with all the rebellion and the drugs which is why I'm so proud you kids are so mature-"

 _RING!_

I was beyond relieved as I heard the bell ring. Peter was definitely feeling some of the same sentiment considering he burst out of his seat and was out the door in a split second while I took the time to briefly thank Mrs. Cope. Even as I walked out of class I couldn't help but see my future in her. If I stayed in Union Academy and allowed them to continue to control my life then there'd be a chance that I'd end up working as a guidance counselor at this school trying to ask kids like _Peter_ to use their 'nice words' and giving them cookies at the end of a unproductive session.

"Where ya headed?" Mike's voice vibrated beside me as I felt him put his arm around my shoulders.

"Uhh," I mumbled as I got over the slight discomfort of his arm while also searching for my schedule, "Well I missed the second half of Physical Training and all of Sensory Adaptation so that sucks which means now I have Software Intelligence. Is that class any good?" I looked up at him only to find him already staring at me. I looked away. His arm pulled me tighter.

As soon as I saw a water fountain I decided it was probably going to be my only savior so I slipped out from the weight of his arm and bent over to drink some water when I felt a hand slap my ass. It _stung._

Furious, I spun around to see Mike's innocent yet shocked expression hiding behind a mischievous looking Alice, "Gotcha! Hope you didn't think Mike slapped you! Ooh if he did you better get a good slap in but I gotta go, Jasper's waiting for me in Chem. I'll catch you at lunch!" She swiftly kissed my cheek and left to her next class.

Mike laughed nervously, "Um, I, -Software's this way. I have the class right next to it." He led me around the corner of the water fountain as we walked down a pretty lengthy hallway. "It's the blue door. All technology classes have a blue door. Science is green, I have Bio right now." He said as he pointed to the green adjacent door. "I'll see you after class, Bella." As I was about to peer into the Software class Mike grasped my shoulders and pulled me into a more than friendly hug; my head was on his shoulder as I quickly clapped him on the back and wiggled myself away. Hopefully he didn't have the wrong impression.

The first thing I noticed when I walked into class were the various colored wires hanging out of _everywhere._ Red and blue electrical wires extended from the power sockets high on the walls as they extended from a computer set three feet below them. In addition to what looked like a ceremonial injunction of ten cords about the size of my wrist interconnecting in the middle of the room, a massive screen took up the entire east wall with a simplistic teacher's desk beside it. Throughout the room, all wires were covered in a glass protected case and all I could think about was clumsy Bella busting in and breaking everything. Despite the mega glass blowout, the computers were definitely the most impressive; there were ten computer sets on the edges of the room, each placed on different colored desks and under different sockets on the walls. Each computer set consisted of one giant computer screen, two smaller screens on both sides, and two tablets. Most impressive, all of the electronics looked like brand new, state of the art technology with sleek silver edges and shiny black screens. It was definitely a tech lover's wet dream.

Oddly enough, even though there were empty seats at the computer desks, students were milling around in the front of the room as we waited for the teacher to show up. I supposed it was because most of the people already knew each other and were engaged in conversations but since I didn't see anyone I recognized, the desks seemed like a better option than standing around awkwardly. As I passed I got a few curious looks but I guess I shouldn't expect anything else since I'm the 'new kid'.

"You definitely don't want to do that," I turned to see a blonde girl waving me towards her. "Mr. Newton has very strict rules on the first day. He hasn't assigned us a lab set yet so we have to wait until he gets here to give us a station, otherwise he'd freak! By the way, I'm Irina." She stuck her hand out to shake mine as I slipped my palm into hers. "Bella," Just as I said my name her eyes seemed to get a glassy look and just for a second I wondered if she was alright but a voice at my shoulder interrupted my pondering, "Not your wisest choice, Bella, and what the hell are you doing Irina?"

Edward smelled like one of those delicious cologne samples a mall associate would try to sell you; all clean, fresh, and crisp as hell. It smelled marvelous. He smelled marvelous. He smelled even more marvelous straight out of the shower this morning.

I didn't even turn as I replied "And why do you say that?"

Irina looked at me and then back at Edward. She frowned a bit but then gave me a quip smile, eyed Edward for a bit, spun on her heel, and dissolved into the crowd of students.

"I think you scared her." I said as I peeked Edward out of the corner of my eye.

He chuckled a bit, "For your sake I think we'll go with that."

"Hello, class!" A blond sir with glasses perched at the end of his nose rolled into class; and I mean he literally _rolled_ into class. Mr. Newton was standing on some sort of skateboard contraption although it looked nothing like one; the cylinder shaped panel he stood on was about the length and width of a skateboard except it had a sleek and shiny black top with two huge wheels underneath that seemed to control the direction and speed he moved in. Although I had no idea what it was I could tell that just by looking at it, it was most definitely a latest technological innovation. "How is everyone today? I see that you have all received my memo about not sitting at the computers which I am delighted about because I no longer have to spend the first ten minutes of class wasting my breath by yelling at you over the standard procedures of any computer lab worth over $10 million dollars." I think I choked a bit when he gave us the estimate on the price of the lab. "In that case, I'd say we are fit to start." He looked us all over a bit and rolled his way through the class as bodies of students split to allow him space to pass. "I have three rules: first, no one sits until I come in and inspect everything; second," Mr. Newton pointed to the front of the room. At about five feet away from the screen on the wall was the massive glass case of black chords connecting to each other and creating one giant wire leading to the screen. "No one touches the glass case; and third, no one touches Lenny." He pointed to the tech board he was on which I'm guessing he named Lenny. "Follow these three rules and I'm sure we'll get along just fine." Mr. Newton rolled back to his position at the front of the class. "Now I will split you all into partners so ladies on the left and gentleman on the right."

The class began to shuffle in formation and I headed to my side of the room. I recognized a few familiar faces through passing but the only people I've spoken to so far were Edward and Irina. No doubt I was a bit nervous in wondering who my partner was going to be. Last year, my science lab partner ended up being a total asshole; he dated one of my friends and then dumped her as soon as she wouldn't have sex with him. Hopefully this time I wouldn't have to go through a similar struggle. I'd find out soon seeing as Mr. Newton did not wait at all to pair people up. He was handing girls what looked to be Popsicle sticks with a marked color at the end.

"And you get," Mr. Newton reached his hand into the ends of his bucket to hand me a Popsicle stick. "Red."

With the Popsicle stick in hand I headed to the lab station with red chairs since that seemed to be the procedure the other girls were doing. Sitting down so close to the computers made me realize how unappreciative I was about their beauty; these computers were the Beyonce of technology. That being said, I was a bit intimidated to touch them so I settled for the tablet as it was probably the least expensive operation at the desk. It seemed like the safest option for someone as clumsy as me to hold. As soon as I held it in my hands I was impressed by the weight of it which was about next to nothing even though it was the size of a sheet of paper and the thickness of the front cover of a hardback book. I bet it cost more than a month's rent. I desperately hoped I'd never break it.

"Hey lab partner," A boy with slick black hair approached the open chair beside me. He was incredibly huge but it could've just been because I was sitting down.

"Hi," I brilliantly replied. Please don't be an asshole.

He chuckled, exposing pristine white teeth against his russet tan skin. His eyes, on the other hand, were an extremely dark brown about a shade lighter than his hair. "I'm Jacob," As I placed my palm into his outstretched hand I couldn't help but notice how incredibly small mine looked next to his. Even as he sat next to me, his frame stood broad and strong. At my old school he would've been the perfect candidate for a football MVP.

"Bella," I smiled.

"You're new here right?" He asked.

Nodding, I rested my head on my fist. "Yeah, I actually got here a day ago. It was really sudden."

"I'll bet. Where'd you come from?"

"Phoenix, Arizona. I'm not sure where we are though; we didn't get on a plane so it's probably pretty close right?" I recalled my memories from when the men from Union Academy came to pick me up from my house. I fell asleep during the car ride but I would've woken up if we had to get on a plane.

Jacob shook his head, his shaggy hair dancing in sync to the motion. "I don't think that's the case it _snows_ here. It doesn't snow there, does it? And there's even a group of girls from Alaska who supposedly never got on a plane. I don't know how UA did it but it's weird. I'm not sure what's so important about a location, though. Beats me. Wish I could leave, though, Phoenix must be awesome."

Woah.

Talk about governmental secrets, huh?

I had been certain we were just a few hours from my home but given the news Jacob just told me, we could be on the opposite end of the United States.

"Okay class, I'll be handing out a syllabus for you all." Mr. Newton spoke.

I wondered how Mr. Newton could be okay with teaching us. He used to _be one of us._ He went through the same procedures as us and he no doubt had thoughts of how unethical Union Academy was for keeping us here. Our lives would always be Union Academy. Hell, Jacob could be the next Mr. Newton. I could even be the next Mrs. Cope. The thought gave me chills.

The class was boring. Except for Jacob, he was chill. We mutually endured Mr. Newton droning on about his precious equipment as he reviewed the syllabus by exchanging our pain with games of hangman.

As soon as the bell rang I was eager to leave the room and I could tell Jacob was too. We didn't even bother with putting our supplies in our bags if it meant being in the room for an extra ten seconds. I stuffed my notebook and pens in my binder and made a beeline for the exit.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" I exclaimed. In my haste to get away from the class I didn't notice the person standing next to the entrance of the door. All of the books in our arms fell and my pens scattered tragically all over the floor. I bounced back on impact and ended up tripping over my feet. Luckily, Jacob was behind me and held my arms to balance me before I collided with the ground. I'm an idiot and a klutz and I most likely had an enemy now.

"What the hell, Cullen?" Jacob stepped around me to face Edward, of all people. I was momentarily surprised to see Edward but was even more stunned by the harshness in Jacob's voice; it was five times deeper and he definitely wasn't the warm Jacob from our hangman games. His face had a darker undertone and with his seven foot muscular stature he looked deadly.

Edward was no different, his hazel green eyes had transformed into a stormy haze as his jaw locked. He didn't look scared even though Jacob was bigger than him. In fact, he just looked pissed. "Get the fuck out of here, Black." Edward's typically velvet voice had advanced to a foreign steel clipped edge.

"I'm not going anywhere, Cullen." Jacob stood firm.

Edward laughed, "I've been waiting for this for a long time, don't go running now."

"Wouldn't dream of it." Jacob retorted.

I couldn't see much behind Jacob but I could hear their voices and that was enough of an indication to alert me that they were _pissed._ Guy type pissed; the type that usually came before a fight. Before anything escalated, I side stepped Jacob's barricade to stand in between them.

"I'm sorry, Edward, it was my fault. I bumped into you." Edward's attention switched from Jacob to me. However he remained absolutely rigid as his fists were clenched, straining his skin over his knuckles. When he met my gaze I expected to see fury filled eyes but when he focused on me I was surprised to see the calmness he held in his expression. Hopefully he would understand the 'please don't start a fight in the middle of the hallway' look in my eyes.

Jacob was outraged, "You can't possibly be apologizing to him!" Jacob spun me around in a tight grip with eyes that screamed this chick is out of her mind. "What the hell, Bella? He's a dick!" As his fingers closed further on my arms I was about to call him out but Edward beat me to it.

"Fuck you and don't fucking touch her!" Edward's voice roared as he pushed Jacob away, making him release the grip he had on my arms and pushing me to the side.

Jacob was quick to come back "Oh you're one to talk, Cullen" and retaliated with a push of his own. Apparently, Edward had already anticipated it because he moved out of the way quickly and Jacob shoved empty air.

"Still sore?" Edward mocked as he moved around Jacob, pacing in a bit of a semi circle.

"Not as sore as you'll be." Jacob threatened.

The boys were taking up the majority of the hallway and I realized a few people had gathered like gossip hungry vultures. This was absolutely ridiculous.

I pulled on Edward's arm, "Stop it!" I gave Jacob a heated glare, "You too!" I stepped in between the both of them, "Why the hell are you guys fighting? It's not that fucking deep! Jacob, it's my fault I'll apologize to him because I'm a reasonable human being so don't try to tell me otherwise especially since you're the one trying to pick a fight. Are you twelve? And don't fucking touch me!" I faced Edward to give him a mouthful "Edward, pushing him obviously doesn't help so don't try to rile him up!" I glared at both of the boys. "Get a grip! Just chill for a sec, both of you. We'll just pick up our stuff and move on with our day because nothing happened."

Jacob eyed me for a moment as if he was actually seeing my point but then Edward's loud voice erupted behind me. "Just get off my ass, Black. You know I didn't do shit."

"I know who the fuck you are and what you've done and I damn well know what you're doing. So how about you lay off, huh?" Jacob took threatening steps forward and I felt Edward's presence get closer, too.

"You gunna hide behind a girl? Fucking pussy." Edward snapped.

What the hell?

Before Jacob could do anything I angrily snapped at Edward. "Damn it, Edward! I said stop, leave him alone!" This definitely wasn't the charming, easy-going Edward I knew. "Why can't you just drop it? Nothing happened I apologized so move the fuck on and leave Jacob alone and don't fucking try to demean me 'because I'm a girl'." My tone took a serious dive and I could only imagine my face. This was absolute bull.

Edward reached out to touch my shoulder but I flicked his hand off, causing him to hiss and examine his arm. "Holy shit, Bella you're hot as fuck." Shit.

"Nice, Cullen. Real fucking classy." Jacob scoffed.

This was too much.

"Grow up." The message was aimed at both boys as I left my shit on the floor as well as the arguing shits to move past the shitty nosy crowd of students and continue on with this really shitty day.

To top it all off, I got lost on the way to my next period. I considered skipping to avoid the awkwardness of being late but I chickened out and trudged on my minute long struggle of finding the damn history room. I also think a part of me wanted to go just to see Alice because I knew she'd be in my next class.

"I thought I told you to leave my kids alone!" I was about to turn the corner but halted when I heard the battling voices. I recognized them from when I was in the hospital wing as the two people that were arguing outside my curtain.

"And I told you that I wasn't going to listen." The feminine voice replied curtly.

"Wait until I tell Esme what you're giving the S Guard. She'll have your ass and you'll be ruined."

A tinkling laugh erupted from the corner the conversation was being held, "Oh, spare me! Don't be so hypocritical! If these monsters can soak up all the modified DNA they want then why can't my guards get a little help? It's just a few pills and shots, damn it! But most importantly they're still _human_ and _natural_. Don't forget my guards are still in the hospital after what your boys did to them at the border, you're just lucky more showed up because I wouldn't put murder past them."

"They're just kids! I wouldn't put murder past your guards. They're fugitives, after all."

What the hell?

"Be quiet with that talk, Elliot. We performed background checks, they're fine."

"Oh yeah, you're going to be in danger when Esme finds out."

"Ah, you see, that's where you're wrong because Esme will _never_ know unless you want me having a chat with your wife. And I'm certain you don't want that." The woman was definitely making threats about an affair.

"I'll kill you before I let that happen. It was a mistake." His defense was weak.

"That's what they all say, that's what I said."

"The next Circle meeting is on Friday and I plan to make that the last meeting you go to."

"We'll see. I'll be sitting next to you, anyways."

The clicking of heels began to sound and I realized I needed a quick place to hide so they wouldn't see me. Although the idea of actually seeing their identities was tempting I didn't want to risk getting caught. Finally, I quickly decided on the closet behind me.

I took a few breaths of relief and counted until I decided the coast was clear.

When I opened the door my heart leaped because at that precise moment the bell rang and students flushed out into the halls.

The day was going by fast, thankfully. But I knew I still had a long way to go even though it was an early release day and all we were doing was receiving syllabuses from teachers.

I was nervous to go to Chemistry next period. I didn't want to see Edward. He clearly wasn't who I thought he was seeing as to how he acted with Jacob. I felt a bit silly for gaining a crush on him so quickly, of course he was gorgeous but what did that matter if he was an ass? I felt like he was just putting up an act around me and I had been fooled all too easily. It kind of sucked. I was also regretting the fact that Jacob was my lab partner in Software because I'd have to sit next to him every single day. And he had seemed really chill, too. Ugh, my life is a joke.

This time, finding the Chemistry lab was super easy compared to the fruitless searching I did to find my history room. I did show up a bit later than anyone else because I had to make a stop at the bathroom but at least I was on time.

I avoided the eyes of the people in the classroom as I walked in but I was stopped by the line forming at the teachers' desk. This reminded me a lot about Mr. Newton's classroom procedures so I tapped the shoulder of the kid in front of me to see what was going on. The last thing I wanted was to get called out in front of everyone.

"Hey, what's this line for?" I asked. The boy had blond silky hair slightly longer than normal, a bit like Austin Butler. As he turned I was captivated by his dazzling blue eyes, most definitely a panty dropper; his entire face was, actually. His skin was flawless of any blemishes and his defined jaw line matched with dimpled cheeks while he smiled made him attractive as hell.

"It's for the lab seat assignments. I don't recognize you, are you new here?" He asked curiously.

I nodded, "Oh okay, thanks and yeah I am I just got here."

He took a step backwards as the fairly long line began moving. "I'm James, what's your name?" James suited him.

"I'm Bella, nice to meet you." I replied.

He grinned beautifully, "I could definitely say the same."

I grinned, was he…?

"So, James, do you know how lab seating works?" I asked as we moved with the line, we were getting closer.

James shook his head, "Unfortunately, I do not. Hope I get someone good, though. I particularly loathe chemistry, a bad partner wouldn't really make that better."

I sympathized with him, he had no idea. "I totally get you, I've had my fair share of sucky lab partners and it's most definitely not fun. On the other hand I actually like chemistry so I'd kick ass either way." I didn't want to sound too cocky but I was pretty proud of my love for the subject most people hate.

At this James chuckled a bit "Ah, so you're one of _those_ people."

"And who exactly are those people?" I challenged playfully.

"You know, the rare and practically extinct population of Chemistry lovers; extinct plus one actually. The type that set the class curve at 100 so everyone else fails. The type that answers all the questions the rest of the class doesn't know. And maybe the type that'll tutor me once I start failing." He countered with a sly smirk at the end.

"Mr. McGraw, I would appreciate it if you didn't hog the line." The teacher announced from behind her computer. She was old yet vibrant and I was pretty sure I'd love her.

James gave her his name, student ID, and had to sign the class procedures contract. After he got his desk number he came back to me and asked "I think you're the type to go to Friday night's back to school party. Everyone meets in the lounge; I'll be there if you want to swing by. Then we head to the woods, there'll be a bonfire, food, and drinks. It'll be fun. Besides, I'll be there."

I smirked, "I guess I do have to represent for the extinct plus one population of chemistry lovers."

"Mr. McGraw, go find your seat before I make you stand the rest of the class." The science teacher demanded.

James gave me one quick smile before heading to his seat. As soon as he moved from my line of sight, my smile quickly dropped as a new form entered my line of vision and this one had bronzed hair and green eyes. I turned quickly.

I had to follow the same procedure as James and ended up getting my favorite number 19. "Where is that?" I asked to avoid the awkwardness of going up and down the aisles of each desk.

"Mr. Cullen, raise your hand." The teacher called.

Oh, crap.

Edward smirked as he lifted two fingers up. He knew exactly what was going on.

"That's your lab desk." She replied, already distracted with the next student.

Great.

 **A/N: OKAY. Really hope you all liked it, it's going to get more in depth. Really big character + plot story. R &R lovelies!**


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